Owensite

(Ba,Pb)6(Cu1+,Fe,Ni)25S27
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Owe
Discovered
1995
Also known as
  • IMA1993-061
  • Owensiet

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

Cu-Ni-Pt-Pd deposit in an ultramafic complex

Type locality
Wellgreen Cu-Ni-PGE deposit
  1. Kluane District
  2. Whitehorse mining district
  3. Yukon
  4. Canada

61.4653°, -139.5275°

3recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Safety & handling

Physical

Hardness
123456789103.5/ 10 MOHS
  1. 1Talc
  2. 2Gypsum
  3. 3Calcite
  4. 4Fluorite
  5. 5Apatite
  6. 6Orthoclase
  7. 7Quartz
  8. 8Topaz
  9. 9Corundum
  10. 10Diamond
Lustre
Metallic
Transparency
Opaque
Streak
Black

Optical

Optical type
Isotropic
Pleochroism
Not Visible
Optical colour
Pale brownish grey in air, greenish-brownish grey in oil
Bireflectance
None
Reflectance R%
(19.15,7.67,) 400, (19.8,8.26) 420, (20.6,8.93) 440, (21.6,9.62) 460, (22.0,9.95) 470, (22.4,10.3) 480, (23.2,10.8) 500, (24.0,11.4) 520, (24.7,11.9) 540, (24.9,12.0) 546, (25.3,12.4) 560, (25.9,12.8) 580, (26.2,13.0) 589, (25.5,13.2) 600, (26.95,13.5) 620, (27.35,13.8) 640, (27.55,13.9) 650, (27.7,14.0) 660, (28.0,14.3) 680, (28.3,14.5) 700
Notes

Tarnishes quite rapidly, lowering the reflectance

Reflected-light panel
R̄ 24.8 %anisotropic · dual curve
Specimen sRGB 189, 126, 61
White reference100 % reflector under same lamp
R₁ R₂
Mode
Bireflectance
None
Reflected colour
Pale brownish grey in air, greenish-brownish grey in oil

Crystallography

Crystal system
Isometric
Space group
#227
Cell parameters
a = 10.349(1) Å
Type-locality form

Anhedral grains up to 43 x 110 um.

Comment

Type material has 10.37 A.

Crystal structure

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
29CuCopperCopper2563.5461588.650
21.51%
28NiNickelNickel2558.6931467.325
19.87%
26FeIronIron2555.8451396.125
18.91%
82PbLeadLead6207.2001243.200
16.83%
16SSulfurSulfur2732.060865.620
11.72%
56BaBariumBarium6137.327823.962
11.16%
Total7384.882100.00%

Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • IMA1993-061
  • Owensiet

In other languages

German
IMA 1993-061 · Owensit
Italian
Owensite

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

2.FC.05

  • 2Sulfides and SulfosaltsClass
  • 2.FSulfides of arsenic, alkalies; sulfides with halide, oxide, hydroxide, H2ODivision
  • 2.FCWith Cl, Br, I (halide-sulfides)Group
  • 2.FC.05OwensiteSpecies
Dana
8th ed.

02.15.02.03

  • 02SulfidesClass
  • 02.15Chlor-sulfidesType
  • 02.15.02Djerfisherite GroupGroup
  • 02.15.02.03OwensiteSpecies

Group, growth & confusion

In the same group
4 members
Commonly confused with
2 minerals

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 1995Szymański, J. T. (1995) The crystal structure of owensite, (Ba,Pb)6(Cu,Fe,Ni)25S27, a new member of the djerfisherite group. The Canadian Mineralogist, 33 (3) 671-678
  2. 1995Laflamme, J. H. G., Roberts, A. C., Criddle, A. J., Cabri, L. J. (1995) Owensite, (Ba,Pb)6(Cu,Fe,Ni)25S27, a new mineral species from the Wellgreen Cu-Ni-Pt-Pd deposit, Yukon. The Canadian Mineralogist, 33 (3) 665-670
  3. 2005(2005) Owensite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Owensite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/owensite-7211},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}