Brezinaite
A chromium sulphide found only in meteorites.
Key facts
- Formula
- Cr3S4
- Family
- Sulphides
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- First described
- the Tucson iron meteorite, 1969
First found in a rock from space
Brezinaite was described in 1969 from the Tucson iron meteorite, the ring-shaped iron famous in Arizona. It is named after Aristides Brezina, an Austrian meteorite curator in Vienna. It is known only from meteorites.
What it is
Brezinaite is a sulphide of chromium alone. Like daubréelite, it forms only where chromium was forced into sulphides by a shortage of oxygen.
Where it is found
It occurs as tiny grains in the Tucson iron, together with other chromium-bearing minerals.
How it is recognised
It is grey in polished section and identified by its chromium-rich chemistry.
Did you know?
Did you know?
The Tucson meteorite is a ring-shaped iron that was once used as a blacksmith's anvil.
Did you know?
Brezina wrote one of the first detailed classifications of meteorites in the 1880s and 1890s.