Buseckite
An iron-rich zinc sulphide with the wurtzite structure, from an enstatite meteorite.
Key facts
- Formula
- (Fe,Zn,Mn)S
- Family
- Sulphides
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- First described
- the Zakłodzie meteorite, 2011
Buseckite was approved as a new mineral in 2011 from the Zakłodzie meteorite, an unusual enstatite-rich stone found in Poland. It is named after Peter Buseck, an American mineralogist known for electron microscopy of meteorites.
What it is
Buseckite is an iron-dominant sulphide with the wurtzite structure, the hexagonal form of zinc sulphide. Its cubic partners, such as sphalerite and rudashevskyite, have the same atoms in a slightly different stacking.
Where it is found
It occurs with troilite, metal and enstatite in Zakłodzie, an ungrouped meteorite rich in enstatite that was strongly heated on its parent body.
How it is recognised
It is identified by electron backscatter diffraction, which distinguishes its hexagonal structure from cubic sphalerite of similar composition.
Did you know?
Zakłodzie has also given browneite, a rare form of manganese sulphide.
Wurtzite is named after the French chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz.