Named in 1995 by Martin R. Lee, Sara S. Russell, John W. Arden, and C.T. Pillinger in honor of Alfred Otto Carl Nier (May 28, 1911 – May 16, 1994), physicist and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was responsible for the now accepted measurement of the atmospheric N-isotope composition. Also was instrumental in the development of mass spectrometry (especially stable isotope mass spectroscopy).

Type Locality:

ⓘ Indarch meteorite, Hindarx, Aghjabadi District, Azerbaijan

Dimorph of:

'UM1995-14-N:Si'

A very rare natural nitride, originally formed in star dust and now found in meteorites.

Synthetic silicon nitride is a very important high-performance ceramic.

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Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

7193

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:7193:8

Similar NamesHide

Nauruite	A synonym of Fluorapatite
Nigerite	A synonym of Ferronigerite-2N1S
Nigrite	A variety of 'Bitumen' ['Petroleum']
Norite	A rock classification type

IMA Classification of NieriteHide

IMA status:

Approved

Approval year:

1994

Type description reference:

Lee, Martin R., Russell, Sara S., Arden, John W., Pillinger, C. T. (1995) Nierite (Si3N4), a new mineral from ordinary and enstatite chondrites. Meteoritics, 30 (4) 387-398 doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1995.tb01142.x

Classification of NieriteHide

Strunz-mindat (2026):

1.DB.05

1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
D : Nonmetallic Carbides and Nitrides
B : Nonmetallic nitrides

Dana 7th ed.:

1.3.9.1

Dana 8th ed.:

1.3.10.1

1 : NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS
3 : Semi-metals and non-metals

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
Nr	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 NieriteHide

Lustre:

Adamantine

Transparency:

Transparent

Colour:

Colorless

Hardness:

9 on Mohs scale

Hardness:

VHN₁₀₀=2600 - 3500 kg/mm² - Vickers

Density:

3.167 - 3.171 g/cm³ (Measured) 3.11 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Optical Data of NieriteHide

Type:

Uniaxial (-)

RI values:

n_ω = 2.03 n_ε = 2.02

Max. Birefringence:

δ = 0.010
Based on recorded range of RI values above.

Interference Colours:
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.

Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.

Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars. Each grain retains its interference colour (retardation) while its brightness falls to black at extinction and reaches a maximum between extinction positions.

Thickness: 30 µm Order divisions

Rotation:

Surface Relief:

Very High (positive)
Relative to Canada balsam mounting medium (n ≈ 1.537).

This shows the grain boundary and Becke line effect under plane-polarised light, based on the contrast between this mineral's average refractive index and the mounting medium. It does not take into account mineral colouration.

Focus:

In focus

Interference Figure:

This shows the idealized uniaxial interference figure - the conoscopic (convergent-light, Bertrand-lens-in) view, for a grain cut with the optic axis centred and vertical. The coloured rings are isochromatics, computed with the same physics as the Michel-Lévy bar above; the dark cross is the isogyre.

For a genuinely uniaxial mineral viewed this way, that cross stays perfectly stationary if you rotate the stage - unlike a biaxial mineral, where it splits apart on rotation. That invariance is itself the standard diagnostic test for telling uniaxial and biaxial minerals apart at the microscope.

Thickness: 30 µm

Chemistry of NieriteHide

Mindat Formula:

Si₃N₄

Element Weights:

Element	% weight
Si	60.062 %
N	39.938 %

Calculated from ideal end-member formula.

Elements listed:

N, Si - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of NieriteHide

Crystal System:

Trigonal

Class (H-M):

3m - Ditrigonal Pyramidal

Space Group:

P31c

Cell Parameters:

a = 7.74(2) Å, c = 5.61(2) Å

Ratio:

a:c = 1 : 0.725

Unit Cell V:

291.06 Å³ (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Crystal StructureHide

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

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CIF File Best | x | y | z | a | b | c

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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	Temp (K)
0012185	Nierite	Yang P, Fun H-K, Rahman I A, Saleh M I (1995) Two phase refinements of the structures of a-Si3N4 and B-Si3N4 made from rice husk by Rietveld analysis Ceramics International 21 137-142	1995	synthetic	293
0014238	Nierite	Kohatsu I, McCauley J W (1974) Re-examination of the crystal structure of alpha-Si3N4 Materials Research Bulletin 9 917-920	1974	synthetic	293
0014312	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001249 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014311	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001248 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014310	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001247 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014309	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001246 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014308	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001245 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014307	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001244 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014306	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001243 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014305	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001242 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014304	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001241 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014303	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001240 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014302	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001239 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293
0014301	Nierite	Billy M, Labbe J, Selvaraj A, Roult G (1983) Modifications structurales du nitrure de silicium en fonction de la temperature _cod_database_code 1001238 Materials Research Bulletin 18 921-934	1983		293

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Nierite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Yang P'
'Fun H-K'
'Rahman I A'
'Saleh M I'
_journal_name_full 'Ceramics International'
_journal_volume 21 
_journal_year 1995
_journal_page_first 137
_journal_page_last 142
_publ_section_title
;
 Two phase refinements of the structures of a-Si3N4 and B-Si3N4 made from rice
 husk by Rietveld analysis
 Sample: Alpha phase
 Note: changed N4 location to match reported bond distances
;
_database_code_amcsd 0012185
_chemical_compound_source 'Synthetic'
_chemical_formula_sum 'Si3 N4'
_cell_length_a 7.7650
_cell_length_b 7.7650
_cell_length_c 5.6275
_cell_angle_alpha 90
_cell_angle_beta 90
_cell_angle_gamma 120
_cell_volume 293.852
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      3.171
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'P 3 1 c'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  'x-y,-y,1/2+z'
  '-y,x-y,z'
  'y,x,1/2+z'
  '-x+y,-x,z'
  '-x,-x+y,1/2+z'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
_atom_site_U_iso_or_equiv
Si1   0.51060   0.08150   0.19040   0.00925
Si2   0.16580   0.25200  -0.01680   0.00684
N1   0.00000   0.00000  -0.02900   0.00329
N2   0.33333   0.66667   0.63400   0.00380
N3   0.34880  -0.03830  -0.02200   0.01013
N4   0.30920   0.35460   0.23000   0.00127

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
4.31 Å	(32)
2.15 Å	(32)
2.87 Å	(28)
2.59 Å	(28)
6.70 Å	(17)
3.35 Å	(17)
2.81 Å	(17)

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
Pre-terrestrial "Ur-minerals"	>4.57
1 : Stellar atmosphere condensates

Type Occurrence of NieriteHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Indarch meteorite, Hindarx, Aghjabadi District, Azerbaijan

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

The Natural History Museum, London, England.

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Diamond	'Kamacite'	Perryite	Schreibersite	Troilite
Spinel	Chromite	Hibonite	Rutile

Reference:

Synonyms of NieriteHide

IMA1994-032

Other Language Names for NieriteHide

Dutch:Nieriet

German:Nierit

Spanish:Nierita

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

1.DB.10

Sinoite

Si₂N₂O

Orth. mm2 : Cmc2₁

Other InformationHide

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 NieriteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-7193.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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Look for Nierite in the Rock H. Currier Digital Library

External Links:

Look for Nierite on Webmineral

Look for Nierite on Wikipedia

Look for Nierite 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 NieriteHide

Reference List:

Kohatsu, I., McCauley, J.W. (1974) Re-examination of the crystal structure of α-Si3N4. Materials Research Bulletin: 9: 917-920.

Yang, P., Fun, H.-K., Rahman, I.A., Saleh, M.I. (1995) Two phase refinements of the structures of α-Si3N4 and β-Si3N4 made from rice husk by Rietveld analysis. Ceramics International: 21: 137-142.

Jambor, John L., Pertsev, Nikolai N., Roberts, Andrew C. (1996) New mineral names. American Mineralogist, 81. 249-254

Mandarino, Joseph A. (1996) Abstracts of New Mineral Descriptions. The Mineralogical Record, 27 (2) 115-120

(2007) Nierite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Localities for NieriteHide

Showing 8 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.

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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.


Algeria
Adrar Province Zaouiet Kounta District In Zghmir ⓘ Adrar 003 meteorite	Lee et al. (1995)

Australia
Victoria City of Greater Shepparton Murchison ⓘ Murchison meteorite	Stroud et al. (2006)

Azerbaijan (TL)
Aghjabadi District Hindarx ⓘ Indarch meteorite (TL)	Meteoritics +2 other references

Brazil
Bahia ⓘ Lagoa Real uranium province	Pires et al. (2014)

China
Guizhou Guiyang Qingzhen County ⓘ Qingzhen meteorite	Lin et al. (2002)

Czech Republic
Olomouc Region Olomouc District Těšetice ⓘ Tieschitz meteorite	Lee et al. (1995) +1 other reference

USA
Kansas McPherson County ⓘ Inman meteorite	Lee et al. (1995)

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Nierite

Unique IdentifiersHide

Similar NamesHide

IMA Classification of NieriteHide

Classification of NieriteHide

Mineral SymbolsHide

Physical Properties of NieriteHide

Optical Data of NieriteHide

Chemistry of NieriteHide

Crystallography of NieriteHide

Crystal StructureHide

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Geological EnvironmentHide

Type Occurrence of NieriteHide

Synonyms of NieriteHide

Other Language Names for NieriteHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat GroupingHide

Other InformationHide

Internet Links for NieriteHide

References for NieriteHide

Localities for NieriteHide

Locality ListHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide