Rosell Minerales

This specimen is an awaruite nugget, rounded by the fluvial action. The awaruite, formerly known as "josephinite" by this North American locality, is a natural alloy of iron and nickel, with compositions within the Ni3Fe-Ni2Fe range (Ni3Fe is more common). Many people mistakenly believe that "josephinites" are of meteoritic origin, but in fact the awaruite is extremely rare in metallic meteorites. The placer deposits of this area were discovered and exploited in the middle of the XIXth century. The awaruite of this deposit is usually accompanied by serpentine, andradite and orcelite: Ni5-xAs2 (x = 0.23).

Size: 0.9 x 0.5 x 0.5 cm.

Classic locality