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Orthocuproplatinum, Pt3Cu, a new mineral from the Lubero region, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Abstract

Orthocuproplatinum, Pt3Cu, is a new mineral from the Lubero region of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mineral, which has a synthetic analogue, occurs as a 1.5-mm-long alluvial grain in a heavy-mineral concentrate, together with the holotype specimen of kitagohaite, Pt7Cu. The grain of orthocuproplatinum has a rim of hongshiite, PtCu, and abundant inclusions of calcite. Opaque and metallic, orthocuproplatinum has a whitish colour in reflected light and slightly perceptible anisotropy. The crystal structure of orthocuproplatinum is orthorhombic, space group Cmmm. Its unit-cell parameters: a = 7.681(1) Å; b = 5.4318(8) Å; c = 2.7502(4) Å; V = 114.74(3) Å3; Z = 2. The calculated density is 17.866 g cm−3. The strongest diffraction lines are [d in Å(I)]: 2.337 (11), 2.236 (100), 2.217 (97), 1.932 (61), 1.920 (30), 1.362 (36), 1.169 (24), 1.161 (23). The Vickers hardness is 243 kg mm−2 (VHN25), corresponding to a Mohs hardness of 4. The empirical formula of orthocuproplatinum, calculated from a mean value of 12 electron-probe microanalyses that gave 12.9 wt% Cu and 87.3 wt% Pt, is Pt2.76Cu1.24 on the basis of 4 atoms.

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Acknowledgements

The Central Laboratories of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, are thanked for providing access to their microdiffractometer. The authors are indebted to Ulf Hålenius and Ritsuro Miyawaki, the former and present Chairman of the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association, respectively, and the CNMNC members, for their thoughtful comments on the data submitted to the commission. Constructive reviews by Louis Cabri and John Bowles, as well as editorial comments by associate editor Luca Bindi, are sincerely appreciated. This work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (project No. 18-15390S to AV). The institutional support RVO 67985831 of the Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Pesquisas Professor Manoel Teixeira da Costa (CPMTC), Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Antônio Carlos 6.627, Belo Horizonte, MG,, 31270-901, Brazil

    Alexandre R. Cabral

  2. Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN), Av. Antônio Carlos 6.627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil

    Alexandre R. Cabral

  3. Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 269, CZ-16500, Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Roman Skála

  4. Czech Geological Survey, Geologická 6, CZ–152 00, Praha 5, Czech Republic

    Anna Vymazalová

  5. Central Laboratories, University of Chemistry and Technology, Technická 5, CZ-16628, Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Maixner

  6. Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    Chris J. Stanley

  7. Technische Universität Clausthal, Adolph-Roemer-Str. 2A, 38678, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    Bernd Lehmann

  8. Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 160/02, 50 Ave. Roosevelt, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Jacques Jedwab

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  1. Alexandre R. Cabral
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  2. Roman Skála
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  3. Anna Vymazalová
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  4. Jaroslav Maixner
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  5. Chris J. Stanley
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  6. Bernd Lehmann
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  7. Jacques Jedwab
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Correspondence to Alexandre R. Cabral.

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Editorial handling: L. Bindi

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Cabral, A.R., Skála, R., Vymazalová, A. et al. Orthocuproplatinum, Pt3Cu, a new mineral from the Lubero region, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Miner Petrol 113, 527–532 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-019-00663-1

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