Melliniite

A valid IMA mineral species

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Melliniite

Northwest Africa 1054 meteorite, Northwest Africa Meteorites

Melliniite

Northwest Africa 1054 meteorite, Northwest Africa Meteorites

Melliniite

Northwest Africa 1054 meteorite, Northwest Africa Meteorites

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About MelliniiteHide

Marcello Mellini

Formula:

(Ni,Fe)₄P

Lustre:

Metallic

Hardness:

8 - 8½

Specific Gravity:

7.882

Crystal System:

Isometric

Name:

Honouring Prof. Marcello Mellini (b. 1949, Arcola (La Spezia), Italy), Mineralogist in the Universities of Perugia, Pisa and Siena, for his development of meteorite studies in Italy.

Type Locality:

ⓘ Northwest Africa 1054 meteorite (NWA 1054), Northwest Africa Meteorites

Chemically related to halamishite, nazarovite, negevite, nickelphosphide, transjordanite, and 'Unnamed (Ni-Fe Phosphide)'.

Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

28998

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:28998:6

Similar NamesHide

Malanite	A valid IMA mineral species	Cu⁺(Ir³⁺Pt⁴⁺)S₄
Malinite	A variety of
Melanite	A variety of Andradite	Ca₃Fe₂³⁺(SiO₄)₃
Melinite	A synonym of 'Bole'
Mellonite	A synonym of Pseudocotunnite
Melnöite	A rock subtype
Melonite	A valid IMA mineral species - grandfathered	NiTe₂
Mullanite	A synonym of Boulangerite
Mullinit	A synonym of Vivianite
Mylonite	A rock classification type

IMA Classification of MelliniiteHide

IMA status:

Approved

Approval year:

2005

First published:

2006

Classification of MelliniiteHide

Strunz-mindat (2026):

1.BD.20

1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
B : Metallic Carbides, Silicides, Nitrides, Phosphides and Hydrides
D : Phosphides

Dana 7th ed.:

1.1.31.4

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Symbol	Source	Reference for Standard
Mli	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of MelliniiteHide

Lustre:

Metallic

Transparency:

Opaque

Streak:

Grey

Hardness:

8 - 8½ on Mohs scale

Hardness:

VHN₅₀₀=440 - 454 kg/mm² - Vickers

Tenacity:

Brittle

Cleavage:

None Observed

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven

Density:

7.882 g/cm³ (Measured) 7.88 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Optical Data of MelliniiteHide

Bireflectance:

No bireflectance

Reflectivity:

Wavelength	R₁ (%)
471nm	60.56%
548nm	50.44%
586nm	52.51%
652nm	55.94%

Graph shows reflectance levels at different wavelengths (in nm). Peak reflectance is 60.56%.

Colour in reflected light:

Cream-yellowish

Internal Reflections:

None

Pleochroism:

Non-pleochroic

Chemistry of MelliniiteHide

Mindat Formula:

(Ni,Fe)₄P

Element Weights:

Element	% weight
Ni	88.345 %
P	11.655 %

Calculated from ideal end-member formula.

Elements listed:

Fe, Ni, P - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of MelliniiteHide

Crystal System:

Isometric

Class (H-M):

23 - Tetartoidal

Space Group:

P2₁3

Cell Parameters:

a = 6.025 Å

Unit Cell V:

218.71 Å³

Crystal StructureHide

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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure

ID	Species	Reference	Link	Year	Locality	Pressure (GPa)	Temp (K)
0004124	Melliniite	Pratesi G, Bindi L, Moggi-Cecchi V (2006) Icosahedral coordination of phosphorus in the crystal structure of melliniite, a new phosphide mineral from the Northwest Africa 1054 acapulcoite American Mineralogist 91 451-454		2006		0	293

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Melliniite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Pratesi G'
'Bindi L'
'Moggi-Cecchi V'
_journal_name_full 'American Mineralogist'
_journal_volume 91 
_journal_year 2006
_journal_page_first 451
_journal_page_last 454
_publ_section_title
;
 Icosahedral coordination of phosphorus in the crystal structure of melliniite,
 a new phosphide mineral from the Northwest Africa 1054 acapulcoite
;
_database_code_amcsd 0004124
_chemical_formula_sum '(Ni2.32 Fe1.68) P'
_cell_length_a 6.025
_cell_length_b 6.025
_cell_length_c 6.025
_cell_angle_alpha 90
_cell_angle_beta 90
_cell_angle_gamma 90
_cell_volume 218.711
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      7.925
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'P 21 3'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  '1/2-z,-x,1/2+y'
  '-z,1/2+x,1/2-y'
  '1/2+z,1/2-x,-y'
  'z,x,y'
  '1/2+y,1/2-z,-x'
  '1/2-y,-z,1/2+x'
  '-y,1/2+z,1/2-x'
  'y,z,x'
  '-x,1/2+y,1/2-z'
  '1/2+x,1/2-y,-z'
  '1/2-x,-y,1/2+z'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
_atom_site_occupancy
_atom_site_U_iso_or_equiv
Ni1   0.11684   0.20686   0.45493   0.58000   0.02900
Fe1   0.11684   0.20686   0.45493   0.42000   0.02900
Ni2   0.68030   0.68030   0.68030   0.58000   0.02610
Fe2   0.68030   0.68030   0.68030   0.42000   0.02610
P   0.06220   0.06220   0.06220   1.00000   0.02420
loop_
_atom_site_aniso_label
_atom_site_aniso_U_11
_atom_site_aniso_U_22
_atom_site_aniso_U_33
_atom_site_aniso_U_12
_atom_site_aniso_U_13
_atom_site_aniso_U_23
Ni1 0.02950 0.02890 0.02860 0.00010 -0.00020 0.00010
Fe1 0.02950 0.02890 0.02860 0.00010 -0.00020 0.00010
Ni2 0.02610 0.02610 0.02610 0.00040 0.00040 0.00040
Fe2 0.02610 0.02610 0.02610 0.00040 0.00040 0.00040
P 0.02420 0.02420 0.02420 -0.00030 -0.00030 -0.00030

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
2.694 Å	(15)
2.005 Å	(100)
1.420 Å	(10)
1.348 Å	(10)
1.182 Å	(15)
1.119 Å	(15)

Comments:

Northwest Africa 1054 meteorite. Data from type description.

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
Stage 2: Planetesimal differentiation and alteration	4.566-4.550
6 : Secondary asteroid phases	4.566-4.560
Stage 3a: Earth’s earliest Hadean crust	>4.50
7 : Ultramafic igneous rocks
Stage 10a: Neoproterozoic oxygenation/terrestrial biosphere	<0.6
50 : Coal and/or oil shale minerals	<0.36
Stage 10b: Anthropogenic minerals	<10 Ka
54 : Coal and other mine fire minerals (see also #51 and #56)

Type Occurrence of MelliniiteHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Northwest Africa 1054 meteorite (NWA 1054), Northwest Africa Meteorites

General Appearance of Type Material:

Anhedral to subhedral grains up to 100 µm across.

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

Museum of Planetary Science, Prato, Italy (No. MSP2366).

Geological Setting of Type Material:

Primitive acapulcoite achondrite with low terrestrial weathering grade and shock stage.

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

'Kamacite'

Nickelphosphide

Synonyms of MelliniiteHide

IMA2005-027

Other Language Names for MelliniiteHide

Dutch:Melliniiet

German:Melliniit

Russian:Меллиниит

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

1.BD.	Murashkoite	FeP	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
1.BD.	Orishchinite	Ni₂P	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
1.BD.	Nickolayite	FeMoP	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
1.BD.	Grammatikopoulosite	NiVP	Orth.
1.BD.	Negevite	NiP₂	Iso. m3(2/m3) : Pa3
1.BD.	Halamishite	Ni₅P₄	Hex. 6mm : P6₃mc
1.BD.	Transjordanite	Ni₂P	Hex. 6m2 : P62m
1.BD.	Zuktamrurite	FeP₂	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnnm
1.BD.05	Nickelphosphide	(Ni,Fe)₃P	Tet. 4 : I4
1.BD.05	Schreibersite	(Fe,Ni)₃P	Tet. 4 : I4
1.BD.10	Barringerite	(Fe,Ni)₂P	Hex. 6m2 : P62m
1.BD.10	Monipite	MoNiP	Hex. 6m2 : P62m
1.BD.15	Allabogdanite	(Fe,Ni)₂P	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
1.BD.15	Florenskyite	FeTiP	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m)
1.BD.15	Andreyivanovite	FeCrP	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
1.BD.35	Nazarovite	Ni₁₂P₅	Tet. 4/m : I4/m
1.BD.45	Polekhovskyite	MoNiP₂	Hex. 6/mmm(6/m2/m2/m) : P6₃/mmc
1.BD.50	Tsikourasite	Mo₃Ni₂P_1+x	Iso. 43m : F43m
1.BD.60	Badengzhuite	TiP	Hex. 6/mmm(6/m2/m2/m) : P6₃/mmc

Other InformationHide

Health Risks:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for MelliniiteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-28998.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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External Links:

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Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

Mineral Dealers:

Buy from D. Joyce minerals

References for MelliniiteHide

Reference List:

Moggi-Cecchi, V., Bindi, L., Pratesi, G. (2005): A new iron-nickel phosphide from the Northwest Africa 1054 Meteorite. 68th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting, 5308.

Pratesi, G., Bindi, L., Moggi-Cecchi, V. (2006): Icosahedral coordination of phosphorus in the crystal structure of melliniite, a new phosphide mineral from the Northwest Africa (NWA) 1054 acapulcoite. American Mineralogist: 91: 451-454.

(2022) Melliniite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Localities for MelliniiteHide

Showing 6 localities.

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

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Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed.

- This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.

- Good crystals or important locality for species.

- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.


Brazil
Bahia Maracás Rio Jacaré layered complex ⓘ Maracás Menchen mine	Campbell (2012)

Greece
Central Greece Phthiotis Domokos ⓘ Agios Stefanos mine	Ifandi et al. (2018) +2 other references

Northwest Africa Meteorites
ⓘ Northwest Africa 1052 meteorite (NWA 1052)	V. Moggi-Cecchi et al.
ⓘ Northwest Africa 1054 meteorite (NWA 1054) (TL)	Moggi-Cecchi et al. (2005) +1 other reference

Russia
Chelyabinsk Oblast Korkinsky District ⓘ Korkino	Sharygin et al. (2010)

The Moon
Mare Crisium ⓘ Luna 24 landing site	Analytical data Andrei Mokhov and Pavel ...

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Melliniite

About MelliniiteHide

Unique IdentifiersHide

Similar NamesHide

IMA Classification of MelliniiteHide

Classification of MelliniiteHide

Mineral SymbolsHide

Physical Properties of MelliniiteHide

Optical Data of MelliniiteHide

Chemistry of MelliniiteHide

Crystallography of MelliniiteHide

Crystal StructureHide

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Geological EnvironmentHide

Type Occurrence of MelliniiteHide

Synonyms of MelliniiteHide

Other Language Names for MelliniiteHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat GroupingHide

Other InformationHide

Internet Links for MelliniiteHide

References for MelliniiteHide

Localities for MelliniiteHide

Locality ListHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide