Iridium Mineral Data

General Iridium Information

Chemical Formula:

(Ir,Os,Ru,Pt)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 182.79 gm

Iridium 52.58 % Ir

Osmium 31.22 % Os

Ruthenium 5.53 % Ru

Platinum 10.67 % Pt

______

100.00 %

Empirical Formula:

Pt_0.1Ir_0.5Os_0.3Ru_0.1

Environment:

As exsolution particles in Pt-Fe alloys.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1804

Locality:

Kamchatka Oblast', Pustaya River, Russia. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named after the element Iridium which was from the Latin, Iris = "rainbow" in allusion to the colored salts derived from its compounds.

Name Pronunciation:

Iridium

Synonym:

ICSD 64992

Irite - mixture of several PGE minerals

Osmiridium

PDF 6-598

Platiniridium

Ruthenosmiridium

Iridium Image

Images:

Iridium

Comments: Silvery metallic crystalline iridium micrograin and irregular nuggets.
Location: Fox Gulch, Goodnews Bay, Alaska, USA. Scale: See Photo.
© Jeff Weissman / Photographic Guide to Mineral Species

Iridium Crystallography

Cell Dimensions:

a = 3.8394, Z = 4; V = 56.60 Den(Calc)= 21.45

Crystal System:

Isometric - HexoctahedralH-M Symbol (4/m 3 2/m) Space Group: F m3m

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.217(1), 1.9197(0.5), 1.1574(0.45),

Crystal Structure:

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drag1 - LMB Manipulate Structure
drag2 - RMB Resize/Rotate
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S - Stereo Pair on/off
H - Help Screen
I - Data Info
A - Atoms On/Off
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Wyckoff R W G , Crystal Structures , 1 (1963) p.7-83, Second edition. Interscience Publishers, New York, New York, Cubic closest packed, ccp, structure

Physical Properties of Iridium

Cleavage:

None

Color:

White.

Density:

22.6 - 22.8, Average = 22.7

Diaphaneity:

Opaque

Fracture:

Malleable - Deforms rather than breaking apart with a hammer.

Habit:

Granular - Generally occurs as anhedral to subhedral crystals in matrix.

Hardness:

6-7 - Orthoclase-Quartz

Luminescence:

Non-fluorescent.

Luster:

Metallic

Magnetism:

Nonmagnetic

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Iridium

RL Color:

White, silver with yellow tint.

Reflectivity

**Standardized Intensity (100%) Reflection Spectra of Iridium in Air**
λ	R	∑ R(λ)
400 nm	66.70
420 nm	67.60
440 nm	68.50
460 nm	69.20
480 nm	69.90
500 nm	70.40
520 nm	70.80
540 nm	71.20
560 nm	71.60
580 nm	72.00
600 nm	72.30
620 nm	72.70
640 nm	73.20
660 nm	73.70
680 nm	74.20
700 nm	74.80

**Calculated Relative Intensity Colors of Iridium in Air**
Relative Intensity	0%	20%	40%	60%	80%	100%	120%	130%
R

Calculated Properties of Iridium

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=17.3 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Iridium =21.5 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.1
Boson Index = 0.9

Photoelectric:

PE_Iridium=1,451.87 barns/electron
U=PE_Iridium x rElectron Density=25045.69 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Iridium is Not Radioactive

Iridium Classification

Dana Class:

01.02.01.02 (01)Native Elements

(01.02)with platinum group metals and alloys

(01.02.01)Platinum group (Space Group Fm3m)

01.02.01.01 Platinum Pt F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.02.01.02 Iridium (Ir,Os,Ru,Pt) F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.02.01.03 Rhodium (Rh,Pt) F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.02.01.04 Palladium Pd,Pt F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

Strunz Class:

01.AF.10 01 - ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)

01.A - Metals and Intermetallic Alloys

01.AF -Platinum-group elements

01.AF.10 Palladium Pd,Pt F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AF.10 Iridium (Ir,Os,Ru,Pt) F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AF.10 Rhodium (Rh,Pt) F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AF.10 Platinum Pt F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

Other Iridium Information

References:

NAME( Emsley91) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(AntBidBlaNic1)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Iridium :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Ask about Iridium here :
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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Iridium Specimen Label here :

Iridium

(Ir,Os,Ru,Pt)
Dana No: 01.02.01.02 Strunz No: 01.AF.10
Locality:

Notes: