Kryachkoite
An aluminium–copper–iron alloy from the Khatyrka meteorite, named after the man who found the first grains.
Key facts
- Formula
- (Al,Cu)6(Fe,Cu)
- Family
- Metals and alloys
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- First described
- the Khatyrka meteorite, 2016
Kryachkoite was approved as a new mineral in 2016 from the Khatyrka meteorite. It is named after Valery Kryachko, the Russian geologist who found the first Khatyrka material while panning for platinum in 1979.
What it is
Kryachkoite is an intermetallic alloy with about six atoms of aluminium and copper for each atom of iron and copper. Its composition and structure are close to those of a crystal made in laboratories alongside quasicrystals.
Where it is found
It occurs as tiny grains in the Khatyrka CV3 chondrite, with icosahedrite and other aluminium alloys.
How it is recognised
It is identified by electron diffraction and microprobe analysis.
Did you know?
Kryachko's samples were later studied in museum collections in St Petersburg and Florence.
The search for the meteorite's source led an expedition to a remote stream in Chukotka in 2011.