View source for Smaltite

{{short description|Type of mineral skutterudite}}
[[Image:Skutterudite allemagne.jpg|thumb|Smaltite - Schneeberg Germany]]
'''Smaltite''' is a variety of the mineral [[skutterudite]] consisting of [[cobalt]], [[iron]], [[nickel]], and [[arsenide]].  It has the chemical formula {{chem2|(Co,Fe,Ni)As2}}.
Smaltite crystallizes in the [[cubic system]] with the same hemihedral [[symmetry]] as [[pyrite]]; [[crystal]]s have usually the form of cubes or cubo-octahedra, but are imperfectly developed and of somewhat rare occurrence. More often the mineral is found as compact or granular masses. The color is tin-white to steel-grey, with a metallic [[Lustre (mineralogy)|luster]]; the streak is greyish black. [[Mohs hardness|Hardness]] is 5.5 and the [[specific gravity]] is 6.5. The cobalt is partly replaced by [[iron]] and [[nickel]], and as the latter increases in amount there is a passage to the isomorphous species [[chloanthite]] ({{chem2|NiAs2}}).{{sfn|Spencer|1911|p=249}}
Smaltite occurs in veins with [[ore]]s of cobalt, nickel, [[copper]] and [[silver]]. The best known localities are [[Cobalt, Ontario]] and [[Schneeberg, Saxony|Schneeberg]] in [[Saxony]], [[Germany]]. The name smaltite was given by [[François Sulpice Beudant|F. S. Beudant]] in 1832 because the mineral was used in the preparation of [[smalt]] for producing a blue color in [[porcelain]] and [[glass]].{{sfn|Spencer|1911|p=249}}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*{{1911|first=Leonard James |last=Spencer |wstitle=Smaltite |volume=25|page=249}}
==Further reading==
*[http://www.mindat.org/min-3685.html Mindat locality data]
[[Category:Cobalt minerals]]
[[Category:Iron minerals]]
[[Category:Nickel minerals]]
[[Category:Arsenide minerals]]