Jul 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993metic..28..339d&link_type=abstract
Meteoritics, vol. 28, no. 3, volume 28, page 339
Other
Anomalous Iron Meteorites, Brezinaite, Iron-Chrome Sulfides, Iva Iron Meteorites, Sulfides
Scientific paper
Brezinaite Data: Idealized formula: (Cr^2+Cr^3+)(sub)3S(sub)4, metal: sulphur ratio=0.76 - 0.79, structure: defect NiAs-type, symmetry: monoclinic I 2/m, Beta = 91 degrees 32'. As part of a research program in Copenhagen and at the Smithsonian Institution involving sulphides in selected irons, the mineral brezinaite was, quite surprisingly, found to be present in several of the sections studied. Brezinaite is a rare meteoritic sulphide, previously only reported in two Anom. irons; Tucson [1] and New Baltimore [2] , a list that can now be extended to include, as a minimum, the following meteorites: Type IIIA; Costilla Peak, Kalkaska and Murfreesboro. Type IVA; Jamestown, La Grange and Western Arkansas. Anom. or type IIIF; Saint Genevieve County. A thin section examination by reflected light alone will not always be enough to identify the mineral with sufficient accuracy, and it is, therefore, only meteorites in which brezinaite has been confirmed by microprobe analysis that are mentioned above. With the exception of Tucson, where brezinaite is frequently found as anhedral grains contiguous to silicate inclusions, its typical occurrence is either in or along sub-boundaries of the kamacite bands, or occasionally within comb- structured plessite fields. Brezinaite appears most commonly as minute (5-200 micrometers) anhedral-subhedral greyish colored grains, occasionally with a partial rim of schreibersite (eg., Murfreesboro), that occur freely scattered throughout the metal matrix. With the notable exception of troilite aggregates, in which brezinaite does not occur, its appearance and occurrence coincide with the common mineral daubreelite (VH~400 and R% = 37- 40). The difficulty in distinguishing between these two minerals has been a source of confusion. The present study shows that the two minerals both occur as isolated grains and in the immediate vicinity of each other. The intimate relationship between the two minerals is especially clear in Costilla Peak where one (180/120 micrometer) grain was found to consist of alternating thin lamellae of daubreelite and brezinaite. Such lamellae cannot, however, be distinguished in reflected light! Brezinaite does, however, have several distinctive features that are of diagnostic value in separating it from daubreelite. Brezinaite possesses a high degree of anisotropy that may vary from barely detectable to very pronounced, due to differing optical orientations. In general, brezinaite is not abundant in any one thin section, thus unfavorably oriented grains can be mistaken for daubreelite. More characteristic is the quite frequent display of polysynthetic twins in brezinaite, eg., Tucson, Western Arkansas, and to a lesser degree Jamestown. The twinned character is most commonly seen as two sets of parallel lamallae, almost at right angles to one another. Occasionally a third set of more irregular twins can be seen to intersect the two former at an oblique angle, as shown in Fig. 1. References: [1] Bunch T. E. and Fuchs L. H. (1969) Am. Miner., 54, 1509-1518. [2] Buchwald V. F. (1975) I-III, University of California, 1-1418. Fig. 1, which appears here in the hard copy, shows twinned brezinaite bordering a silicate inclusion in the Tucson meteorite. Crossed nicols, X 400. In a future study it is planned to cross-examine the Fe-Cr sulphides with a view to improve our understanding of iron meteorites at moderate to low temperatures.
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