The Fe analogue of mavlyanovite. One of many natural Fe-Si phases; beside the approved species (listed below) you may want to compare Unnamed (Fe silicide I), Unnamed (Fe silicide II) and UM2000-60-Si:Fe.

The Fe(Si)-analogue of wenjiite.

Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

4335

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:4335:5

Similar NamesHide

Ximengite

A valid IMA mineral species

Bi(PO₄)

IMA Classification of XifengiteHide

IMA status:

Approved

Approval year:

1983

First published:

1984

Type description reference:

Yu, Z. (1984) Two new minerals gupeiite and xifengite in cosmic dusts from Yanshan. Acta Petrologica Mineralogica et Analytica: 3: 231-238.

Classification of XifengiteHide

Strunz-mindat (2026):

1.BB.40

1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
B : Metallic Carbides, Silicides, Nitrides, Phosphides and Hydrides
B : Silicides

Dana 7th ed.:

1.1.33.4

Dana 8th ed.:

1.1.23.3

1 : NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS
1 : Metals, other than the Platinum Group

Hey's CIM Ref.:

2.8

2 : Carbides, Nitrides, Silicides and Phosphides

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Symbol	Source	Reference for Standard
Xif	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of XifengiteHide

Lustre:

Metallic

Transparency:

Opaque

Colour:

Grey, Steel-black

Streak:

Black

Hardness:

5 on Mohs scale

Hardness:

VHN₅₀=633 - 694 kg/mm² - Vickers

Tenacity:

Brittle

Cleavage:

None Observed

Density:

6.45 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Optical Data of XifengiteHide

Anisotropism:

Moderate, bluish gray to pale brown

Reflectivity:

Wavelength	R₁ (%)	R₂ (%)
402nm	38.3%	37.9%
439nm	38.4%	38.9%
480nm	40.1%	39.8%
495nm	42.0%	40.4%
546nm	44.1%	43.0%
590nm	46.2%	44.9%
624nm	47.6%	44.7%
644nm	45.3%	44.2%
657nm	45.9%	45.3%

Graph shows reflectance levels at different wavelengths (in nm). Peak reflectance is 47.6%.
R₁ shown in black, R₂ shown in red

Colour in reflected light:

Gray with a yellow tint

Pleochroism:

Not Visible

Chemistry of XifengiteHide

Mindat Formula:

Fe₅Si₃

Element Weights:

Element	% weight
Fe	76.820 %
Si	23.180 %

Calculated from ideal end-member formula.

Elements listed:

Fe, Si - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of XifengiteHide

Crystal System:

Hexagonal

Class (H-M):

6/mmm(6/m2/m2/m) - Dihexagonal Dipyramidal

Space Group:

P6₃/mcm

Setting:

P6₃/mcm

Cell Parameters:

a = 6.759(5) Å, c = 4.720(5) Å

Ratio:

a:c = 1 : 0.698

Unit Cell V:

186.74 Å³ (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Comment:

By analogy to synthetic, isotypic Mn5Si3.

Crystal StructureHide

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Unit Cell | Unit Cell Packed
2x2x2 | 3x3x3 | 4x4x4

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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure

ID	Species	Reference	Year	Locality	Pressure (GPa)	Temp (K)
0019670	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	0.0001	293
0019671	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	1.8	293
0019672	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	3.6	293
0019673	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	4.5	293
0019674	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	5.7	293
0019675	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	7.5	293
0019676	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	8.8	293
0019677	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	11	293
0019678	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	14.4	293
0019679	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	18.7	293
0019680	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	22.6	293
0019681	Xifengite	Santamaria-Perez D, Nuss J, Haines J, Jansen M, Vegas A (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3 Solid State Sciences 6 673-678	2004	synthetic	30	293
0014672	Xifengite	Weill A R (1943) Structure of the eta phase of the iron-silicon system Nature 152 413-413	1943		0	293

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Xifengite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Santamaria-Perez D'
'Nuss J'
'Haines J'
'Jansen M'
'Vegas A'
_journal_name_full 'Solid State Sciences'
_journal_volume 6 
_journal_year 2004
_journal_page_first 673
_journal_page_last 678
_publ_section_title
;
 Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3
 Note: P = 0.0001 GPa
;
_database_code_amcsd 0019670
_chemical_compound_source 'Synthetic'
_chemical_formula_sum 'Fe5 Si3'
_cell_length_a 6.7522
_cell_length_b 6.7522
_cell_length_c 4.740
_cell_angle_alpha 90
_cell_angle_beta 90
_cell_angle_gamma 120
_cell_volume 187.154
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      6.450
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'P 63/m c m'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  '-x,-x+y,z'
  'x,x-y,-z'
  '-x+y,-x,1/2-z'
  'x-y,x,1/2+z'
  '-y,-x,1/2+z'
  'y,x,1/2-z'
  'y,-x+y,-z'
  '-y,x-y,z'
  'x-y,-y,z'
  '-x+y,y,-z'
  'x,y,1/2-z'
  '-x,-y,1/2+z'
  'x,x-y,1/2+z'
  '-x,-x+y,1/2-z'
  'x-y,x,-z'
  '-x+y,-x,z'
  'y,x,z'
  '-y,-x,-z'
  '-y,x-y,1/2-z'
  'y,-x+y,1/2+z'
  '-x+y,y,1/2+z'
  'x-y,-y,1/2-z'
  '-x,-y,-z'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
Fe1   0.33333   0.66667   0.00000
Fe2   0.23700   0.00000   0.25000
Si   0.60500   0.00000   0.25000

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
2.00 Å	(100)
1.94 Å	(80)
1.92 Å	(80)
1.282 Å	(80)
2.21 Å	(60)
1.050 Å	(60)
1.375 Å	(50)

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
Stage 2: Planetesimal differentiation and alteration	4.566-4.550
6 : Secondary asteroid phases	4.566-4.560
Near-surface Processes
26 : Hadean detrital minerals

Type Occurrence of XifengiteHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Placer occurrences (Yanshan micrometeorite), Chengde, Hebei, China

General Appearance of Type Material:

Cores of spheres 0.1-0.5 mm in diameter in placers.

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China.

Geological Setting of Type Material:

Placer

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Gupeiite	'Kamacite'	Maghemite	Magnetite	Taenite
Wüstite

Reference:

Yu, Z. (1984) Two new minerals gupeiite and xifengite in cosmic dusts from Yanshan. Acta Petrologica Mineralogica et Analytica: 3: 231-238.

Synonyms of XifengiteHide

IMA1983-086

Other Language Names for XifengiteHide

Dutch:Xifengiet

German:Xifengit

Russian:Цзифенгит

Simplified Chinese:喜峰矿

Spanish:Xifengita

Common AssociatesHide

Associations Based on Photo Data:

6 photos of Xifengite associated with Naquite	FeSi
5 photos of Xifengite associated with Gupeiite	Fe₃Si
1 photo of Xifengite associated with Toledoite	TiFeSi
1 photo of Xifengite associated with Khamrabaevite	(Ti,V,Fe)C
1 photo of Xifengite associated with Corundum	Al₂O₃

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

1.BB.	Toledoite	TiFeSi	Orth. mm2 : Ima2
1.BB.	Zangboite	TiFeSi₂	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pbam
1.BB.	Kangjinlaite	Ti₁₁Si₁₀	Tet. 4/mmm(4/m2/m2/m) : I4/mmm
1.BB.	Brownleeite	MnSi	Iso. 23 : P2₁3
1.BB.	Yeite	TiSi	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
1.BB.05	Mavlyanovite	Mn₅Si₃	Hex. 6/mmm(6/m2/m2/m) : P6₃/mcm
1.BB.05	Suessite	Fe₃Si	Iso. m3m(4/m32/m) : Im3m
1.BB.10	'UM2001-18-Si:CuPtSn'	(Cu,Pt)₄Si
1.BB.10	Perryite	(Ni,Fe)₅(Si,P)₂	Trig. 3m : R3c
1.BB.15	Naquite	FeSi	Iso. 23 : P2₁3
1.BB.20	Linzhiite	FeSi₂	Tet. 4/mmm(4/m2/m2/m) : P4/mmm
1.BB.25	Luobusaite	Fe_0.84Si₂	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Cmca
1.BB.30	Gupeiite	Fe₃Si	Iso. m3m(4/m32/m) : Fm3m
1.BB.35	Hapkeite	Fe₂Si	Iso. m3m(4/m32/m) : Pm3m
1.BB.45	Carletonmooreite	Ni₃Si	Iso. m3m(4/m32/m) : Pm3m
1.BB.55	Palladosilicide	Pd₂Si	Hex. 6m2 : P62m
1.BB.65	Zhiqinite	TiSi₂	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Fddd

Other InformationHide

Notes:

Strongly magnetic

Health Risks:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for XifengiteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-4335.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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Look for Xifengite in the Rock H. Currier Digital Library

External Links:

Look for Xifengite on Webmineral

Look for Xifengite on Wikipedia

Look for Xifengite on Mineralien Atlas

Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

Mineral Dealers:

Buy from D. Joyce minerals

References for XifengiteHide

Reference List:

Chemical Abstracts 103, 90560.

Weill, A.R. (1943) Structure of the eta phase of the iron-silicon system. Nature: 152: 413-413.

Aronsson, B. (1958) An investigation of the Me5Si3-MeSi region of the Mn-Fe-Si and some related systems. Acta Chemica Scandinavica: 12: 308-313.

Johnson, Vancliff; Weiher, J.F.; Frederick, C.G.; Rogers, D.B. (1972) Magnetic and Mössbauer effect studies of Mn5Si3:Fe5Si3 solid solutions. Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 4 (2). 311-323 doi:10.1016/0022-4596(72)90122-3

Yu, Z. (1984) Two new minerals gupeiite and xifengite in cosmic dusts from Yanshan. Acta Petrologica Mineralogica et Analytica: 3: 231-238. (in Chinese with English abstract).

Yu, Z. (1984) Two new minerals gupeiite and xifengite in cosmic dusts from Yanshan. Acta Petrologica Mineralogica et Analytica: 3: 231-238.

Dunn, Pete J., Chao, George Y., Fitzpatrick, Joan J., Langley, Richard H., Fleischer, Michael, Zilczer, Janet A. (1986) New Mineral Names. American Mineralogist, 71 (1-2). 227-232

Santamaría-Pérez, D., Nuss, J., Haines, J., Jansen, M., Vegas, A. (2004) Iron silicides and their corresponding oxides: a high-pressure study of Fe5Si3. Solid State Sciences: 6: 673-678.

(2005) Xifengite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Errandonea, D., Santamaría-Perez, D., Vegas, A., Nuss, J., Jansen, M., Rodríguez-Hernandez, P., Muñoz, A. (2008) Structural stability of Fe5Si3 and Ni2Si studied by high-pressure X-ray diffraction and ab initio total-energy calculations. Physical Review B - Condensed Matter: 77: 094113-1-094113-12.

Localities for XifengiteHide

Showing 11 localities.

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Hide all sections | Show all sections

Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed.

- This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.

- Good crystals or important locality for species.

- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.


Belarus
Mogilev Region Babruysk District ⓘ Bobruisk Ring Structure	Levitskiy et al. (2018, July) +1 other reference

China (TL)
Hebei Chengde ⓘ Placer occurrences (Yanshan micrometeorite) (TL)	Yu (1984) +1 other reference
Zhejiang Lishui ⓘ Longquan	Xiongjian Hu (1991)

Israel
Haifa District Kishon river Kishon Mid Reach zone 2 Mount Carmel ⓘ Rakefet magmatic complex	Ma et al. (2024)

Pacific Ocean
Mid-Pacific Rise ⓘ 19N 175W ?	Rudashevskii et al. (2001) +1 other reference

Russia
Bashkortostan Ishimbaysky District ⓘ Utar-Yurt	Rappenglück (2022)
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Anadyrsky District Iomrautvaam massif ⓘ Khatyrka meteorite	Ma et al. (2016)
Krasnoyarsk Krai Targhasa massif ⓘ Kaltat Creek	Rappenglück (2022)
Sverdlovsk Oblast Nizhnyaya Tura ⓘ Is River	Pavel M. Kartashov (n.d.) +1 other reference

Ukraine
Donetsk Oblast Makiivka ⓘ Poltava series	Steffen Möckel EDS analysis (2006)

USA
Michigan Roscommon County ⓘ Houghton Lake fulgurite	Stefano +2 other references

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Xifengite

About XifengiteHide

Unique IdentifiersHide

Similar NamesHide

IMA Classification of XifengiteHide

Classification of XifengiteHide

Mineral SymbolsHide

Physical Properties of XifengiteHide

Optical Data of XifengiteHide

Chemistry of XifengiteHide

Crystallography of XifengiteHide

Crystal StructureHide

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Geological EnvironmentHide

Type Occurrence of XifengiteHide

Synonyms of XifengiteHide

Other Language Names for XifengiteHide

Common AssociatesHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat GroupingHide

Other InformationHide

Internet Links for XifengiteHide

References for XifengiteHide

Localities for XifengiteHide

Locality ListHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide