Heideite
A titanium-bearing sulphide from the Bustee aubrite.
Key facts
- Formula
- (Fe,Cr)1+x(Ti,Fe)2S4
- Family
- Sulphides
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- First described
- the Bustee aubrite, 1974
Heideite was approved as a new mineral in 1974 from the Bustee aubrite, which fell in India in 1852. It is named after Fritz Heide (1891–1973), a German meteorite scientist who wrote a classic introduction to meteorites. It is known only from meteorites.
What it is
Heideite is a sulphide of titanium with iron and chromium. Titanium almost always combines with oxygen on Earth, so a titanium sulphide is a sign of the extraordinarily oxygen-poor conditions in which aubrites formed.
Where it is found
It occurs as small grains with troilite and daubréelite in the Bustee aubrite, an enstatite achondrite that is also the type meteorite for oldhamite and osbornite.
How it is recognised
It is identified in polished sections by reflected-light microscopy and microprobe analysis.
Did you know?
Bustee has given three minerals to science: oldhamite, osbornite and heideite.
Heide's book on meteorites was translated and reprinted for decades.