Bulletin Mineralogie Petrologie

An interesting hydrothermal Ni-Sb mineralization has been found in the dumps of the Jan Křtitel Gallery near Michalovy Hory, western Bohemia, Czech Republic. Breithauptite forms metallic fine-crystalline aggregates up to several cm in size with pinkish or reddish tint. It is hexagonal, space group P6₃/mmc and its refined unit-cell parameters are: a 3.9251(2), c 5.1364(2) Å and V 68.531(7) ų. The chemical composition of breithauptite is close to ideal formula, only minor amounts of Bi (up to 0.02 apfu) and As (up to 0.12 apfu) were detected. Its empirical formula (mean of 45 point analyses) is Ni_0.97(Sb_0.97As_0.09)_Σ1.04. The most abundant arsenide in the studied association is nickeline, It occurs as metallic fine-crystalline aggregates up to several cm in size. Occasionally, nickeline aggregates weighing up to 1.5 kg were found. It shows chemical composition with Sb contents in the range 0.02 - 0.28 apfu. Rarely also microscopic aggregates of unusual Sb-rich nickeline (0.30 - 0.46 apfu) were observed together with breithauptite and rammelsbergite. Gersdorffite was found as microscopic aggregates in association with older rammelsbergite. Beside dominant Ni (0.47 - 0.68 apfu) it contains also Co (0.26 - 0.38 apfu) and Fe (0.07 - 0.17 apfu). Nickelskutterudite forms metallic light grey grains up to several cm in size, together with younger stephanite. Its chemical composition corresponds to the empirical formula (Ni_0.69Fe_0.27Co_0.03Cu_0.02)_Σ1.01 (As_2.93S_0.06Sb_0.01)_Σ3.00. Rammelsbergite appears in four associations: as rims of breithauptite or nickeline, as aggregates with relics of native bismuth or aggregates with rims of younger gersdorffite. Chemical composition of individual types of rammelsbergite varies especially in Ni/Co and As/Sb/S ratios. Millerite was found as metallic golden crystalline aggregates in fissures of breithauptite or rarely also as acicular crystals up to 2 mm in lenght. Its chemical composition can be expressed by the empirical formula Ni_1.00(S_0.99Sb_0.01)_Σ1.00. Violarite was observed as fillings of cavities up to 500 μm in size in breithauptite aggregates, its empirical formula is Fe_0.96Ni_2.03(S_3.98Sb_0.02As_0.01)_Σ4.01. Younger sulphidic mineralization is represented by aggregates of tetrahedrite (empirical formula (Cu_9.78Ag_0.22)_Σ10.00(Fe_1.31Zn_0.51Co_0.04)_Σ1.86 (Sb_3.92As_0.52)_Σ4.44S_12.70) and microscopis aggregates of galena (Pb_0.95Cu_0.08)_Σ1.03S_0.98 and stephanite (Ag_5.04Cd_0.01)_Σ5.05(Sb_0.90As_0.13)_Σ1.03S_3.93. The crystallization sequence of studied mineral phases is following: breithauptite, nickeline, bismuth → Sb-rich nickeline → rammelsbergite → gersdorffite→ nickelskutterudite → millerite, violarite, tetrahedrite → stephanite, galena.

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