Category Sulfide minerals Strunz classification 2.EA.20 Crystal system Trigonal | Formula(repeating unit) NiTe2 Dana classification 02.12.14.01 | |
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Crystal class Hexagonal scalenohedral (3m)H-M symbol: (3 2/m) | ||
Melonite is a telluride of nickel; it is a metallic mineral. Its chemical formula is NiTe2. It is opaque and white to reddish-white in color, oxidizing in air to a brown tarnish.
It was first described from the Melones and Stanislaus mine in Calaveras County, California in 1866, by Frederick Augustus Genth.
Melonite occurs as trigonal crystals, which cleave in a (0001) direction. It has a specific gravity of 7.72 and a hardness of 1–1.5 (very soft).
References
Melonite Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA