Pentlandite
“Earth's primary nickel ore”
Pentlandite is an iron-nickel sulfide mineral and the world's most important source of nickel. It typically forms in mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks where immiscible sulfide liquid separates from silicate magma and settles to form massive sulfide ore bodies at the base of intrusions.
iron nickel sulfide ((Fe,Ni)₉S₈)
Sudbury Basin (Ontario, Canada), Norilsk-Talnakh (Russia), Bushveld Complex (South Africa), Kambalda (Western Australia), Voisey's Bay (Canada)
3.5-4
The Norilsk-Talnakh deposit in Siberia is the world's largest nickel-copper-palladium ore body — the sulfide magma that formed it was contaminated by ancient coal deposits, making the ore extraordinarily rich in platinum-group elements.
Test Your Knowledge
What magmatic process concentrates pentlandite and other sulfide minerals into ore deposits at the base of mafic intrusions?
Related Specimens
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