Zhiqinite
Zhiqinite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the native element class, with the chemical formula TiSi₂.
It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system (space group Fddd).
Key properties: Mohs hardness 4–5; specific gravity 4.136; Metallic (synthetic) luster.
IMA symbol Zhi, IMA status: approved, named in 2019.
Found in podiform ophiolite. In a polymineralic spheroid 20 µm across inferred to have crystallized from a droplet of Ti-Si-P intermetallic melt.
It is found associated with Corundum, badengzhuite.
The mineral was named to honor Chinese structural geologist Xu Zhiqin (b. 1941), an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Index entry. This entry combines official IMA/RRUFF species data with published physical-property data — a full written entry hasn’t been published yet.
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