Ferronickelplatinum Locality: Urals Region, Russia Original description: Small (4 mm in diameter) nugget of the sample obtained as native platinum, but showed to contain essential Pt, Fe and Ni - thus revalidated to ferronickelplatinum. Specimen comes from a placer probably from nearby Nizhne Tagilsk, contains small chromite grains and awaits future microprobe analysis. — Photo: Łukasz Kruszewski · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ferronickelplatinum
A very rare natural intermetallic compound of platinum, iron and nickel in 2:1:1 proportion.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Ferronickelplatinum is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the native element class, with the chemical formula Pt₂FeNi.
It crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system (space group P4/mmm). It is a member of the Potarite structural group.
Key properties: Metallic. Anisotropism: Weak. R1 –R2: (400) —, (420) 56.5, (440) 56.4, (460) 56.8, (480) 57.4, (500) 58.2, (520) 58.7 luster.
IMA symbol Fnpt, IMA status: approved, named in 1982.
Found in the heavy fraction of Quaternary alluvial deposits in association with ultramafics from an ophiolite belt (Northern Pekul’nei River, Russia);.
It is found associated with Isoferroplatinum, tetraferroplatinum, rutheniridosmine, laurite, irarsite, cooperite, sperrylite, hollingworthite, cherepanovite, chromite.
The name refers to iron, FERRum, NICKEL, and PLATINUM in the composition.