Braggite
A valid IMA mineral species
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About Braggite
Sir W.H. Bragg and Sir W.L. Bragg
Formula:
PdPt3S4
Lustre:
Metallic
Hardness:
5
Specific Gravity:
9.63
Crystal System:
Tetragonal
Name:
Named by F.A. Bannister in 1932 in honor of Sir William Henry Bragg (2 July 1862, Wigton, Cumberland, England - 12 March 1942, London, England), physicist, chemist, mathematician at the University of Adelaide, University of Leeds, University College London, and the Royal Institution and his son Sir William Lawrence Bragg (31 March 1890, Adelaide, South Australia - 1 July 1971, Waldringfield, Ipswich, Suffolk, England), physicist and X-ray crystallographer at the University of Manchester and University of Cambridge.
This father-son team was awarded the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics, "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays". This revolutionized crystallography and mineralogy. The mineral braggite was the first new mineral isolated and determined by these x-ray methods.
This father-son team was awarded the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics, "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays". This revolutionized crystallography and mineralogy. The mineral braggite was the first new mineral isolated and determined by these x-ray methods.
Type Locality:
Dimorph of:
Isostructural with:
Braggite-Vysotskite Series.
Braggite is stabilised by Pd (and Ni) contents, while cooperite (PtS) is not.
There is a miscibility gap between cooperite and braggite (Merkle & Verryn, 2003).
Braggite is stabilised by Pd (and Ni) contents, while cooperite (PtS) is not.
There is a miscibility gap between cooperite and braggite (Merkle & Verryn, 2003).
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
751
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:751:3
Similar Names
| Bragite | A synonym of 'Fergusonite' | |
| Brockite | A valid IMA mineral species | (Ca,Th,Ce)PO4 · H2O |
| Broggite | A variety of 'Bitumen' ['Petroleum'] | |
| Brookite | A valid IMA mineral species - grandfathered | TiO2 |
IMA Classification of Braggite
Approved
IMA status notes:
Redefined by the IMA
First published:
1932
Approval history:
Grandfathered
Redefined by IMA 2022 (proposal 22-E) as PdPt3S4
Redefined by IMA 2022 (proposal 22-E) as PdPt3S4
Classification of Braggite
2.CC.35a
2 : SULFIDES and SULFOSALTS (sulfides, selenides, tellurides; arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides; sulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthites, etc.)
C : Metal Sulfides, M: S = 1: 1 (and similar)
C : With Ni, Fe, Co, PGE, etc.
2 : SULFIDES and SULFOSALTS (sulfides, selenides, tellurides; arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides; sulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthites, etc.)
C : Metal Sulfides, M: S = 1: 1 (and similar)
C : With Ni, Fe, Co, PGE, etc.
2.8.5.3
2 : SULFIDES
8 : AmXp, with m:p = 1:1
2 : SULFIDES
8 : AmXp, with m:p = 1:1
3.12.45
3 : Sulphides, Selenides, Tellurides, Arsenides and Bismuthides (except the arsenides, antimonides and bismuthides of Cu, Ag and Au, which are included in Section 1)
12 : Sulphides etc. of the platinum metals
3 : Sulphides, Selenides, Tellurides, Arsenides and Bismuthides (except the arsenides, antimonides and bismuthides of Cu, Ag and Au, which are included in Section 1)
12 : Sulphides etc. of the platinum metals
Mineral Symbols
As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.
Please only use the official IMA–CNMNC symbol. Older variants are listed for historical use only.
Please only use the official IMA–CNMNC symbol. Older variants are listed for historical use only.
| Symbol | Source | Reference for Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Bg | IMA–CNMNC | Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 |
| Brg | The Canadian Mineralogist (2019) | The Canadian Mineralogist (2019) The Canadian Mineralogist list of symbols for rock- and ore-forming minerals (December 30, 2019). download |
Pronunciation of Braggite
Pronunciation:
| Play | Recorded by | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Jolyon Ralph | United Kingdom |
Physical Properties of Braggite
Metallic
Transparency:
Opaque
Hardness:
5 on Mohs scale
Hardness:
VHN100=946 - 1064 kg/mm2 - Vickers
Tenacity:
Brittle
Cleavage:
None Observed
Fracture:
Conchoidal
Density:
9.63 g/cm3 (Measured) 9.383 g/cm3 (Calculated)
Optical Data of Braggite
Anisotropism:
Distinct in purplish and pinkish shades of gray and brown
Reflectivity:
| Wavelength | R1 (%) | R2 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 400nm | 41.3% | 41.8% |
| 440nm | 42.1% | 43.0% |
| 480nm | 42.5% | 43.8% |
| 520nm | 42.7% | 44.2% |
| 560nm | 42.5% | 44.2% |
| 600nm | 42.3% | 44.1% |
| 640nm | 41.9% | 44.0% |
| 680nm | 41.9% | 43.8% |
| 700nm | 41.5% | 43.8% |
Graph shows reflectance levels at different wavelengths (in nm). Peak reflectance is 44.2%.
R1 shown in black, R2 shown in red
Colour in reflected light:
White
Chemistry of Braggite
Mindat Formula:
PdPt3S4
Element Weights:
Elements listed:
Crystallography of Braggite
Crystal System:
Tetragonal
Class (H-M):
4/m - Dipyramidal
Space Group:
P42/m
Cell Parameters:
a = 6.367 Å, c = 6.561 Å
Ratio:
a:c = 1 : 1.03
Unit Cell V:
265.97 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:
8
Morphology:
Prisms to 2 cm.
Twinning:
Sometimes observed
Crystal Structure
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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure
| ID | Species | Reference | Link | Year | Locality | Pressure (GPa) | Temp (K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0009481 | Braggite | Childs J D, Hall S R (1973) The crystal structure of braggite, (Pt,Pd,Ni)S Acta Crystallographica B29 1446-1451 |  | 1973 | Potgietersrust district, Transvaal, South Africa | 0 | 293 |
CIF Raw Data - click here to close
X-Ray Powder Diffraction
Powder Diffraction Data:
| d-spacing | Intensity |
|---|---|
| 4.577 Å | (3) |
| 4.511 Å | (3) |
| 3.719 Å | (13) |
| 3.285 Å | (6) |
| 3.190 Å | (15) |
| 2.921 Å | (96) |
| 2.870 Å | (89) |
| 2.853 Å | (96) |
| 2.656 Å | (40) |
| 2.617 Å | (100) |
| 2.154 Å | (14) |
| 2.018 Å | (6) |
| 1.9286 Å | (2) |
| 1.8595 Å | (33) |
| 1.8055 Å | (17) |
| 1.7852 Å | (13) |
| 1.7695 Å | (16) |
| 1.7372 Å | (27) |
| 1.7192 Å | (37) |
| 1.7086 Å | (18) |
| 1.6425 Å | (14) |
| 1.5950 Å | (16) |
| 1.5579 Å | (2) |
| 1.5474 Å | (6) |
| 1.5434 Å | (4) |
| 1.5062 Å | (3) |
| 1.4659 Å | (3) |
| 1.4603 Å | (3) |
| 1.4348 Å | (3) |
| 1.4266 Å | (9) |
| 1.4235 Å | (16) |
| 1.3998 Å | (13) |
| 1.3941 Å | (10) |
| 1.3764 Å | (4) |
| 1.3673 Å | (2) |
| 1.2760 Å | (2) |
| 1.2738 Å | (2) |
| 1.2526 Å | (2) |
| 1.2291 Å | (2) |
| 1.2150 Å | (3) |
| 1.2038 Å | (6) |
| 1.1954 Å | (5) |
| 1.1935 Å | (6) |
| 1.1894 Å | (9) |
| 1.1847 Å | (5) |
| 1.1693 Å | (3) |
| 1.1659 Å | (4) |
| 1.1443 Å | (7) |
| 1.1278 Å | (3) |
| 1.1263 Å | (4) |
Comments:
ICDD 26-1301. See also ICDD 9-421.
Geological Environment
Paragenetic Mode(s):
| Paragenetic Mode | Earliest Age (Ga) |
|---|---|
| Stage 3b: Earth’s earliest hydrosphere | >4.45 |
| 12 : Hadean hydrothermal subsurface sulfide deposits (see also #33) | |
| Near-surface Processes | |
| 26 : Hadean detrital minerals | |
| High-? alteration and/or metamorphism | |
| 33 : Minerals deposited by hydrothermal metal-rich fluids (see also [#12]) | |
| Stage 4b: Highly evolved igneous rocks | >3.0 |
| 37 : Layered igneous intrusions and related PGE minerals |
Geological Setting:
Norites in mafic layered intrusives.
Type Occurrence of Braggite
General Appearance of Type Material:
Silvery metallic grains.
Place of Conservation of Type Material:
The Natural History Museum, London, England, 1932,1303–1304.
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA, 105857.
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA, 105857.
Associated Minerals at Type Locality:
Other Language Names for Braggite
Relationship of Braggite to other Species
Forms a series with:
Common Associates
Associations Based on Photo Data:
| 20 photos of Braggite associated with Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| 11 photos of Braggite associated with Bornite | Cu5FeS4 |
| 10 photos of Braggite associated with 'Iron-Platinum alloy' | (Pt,Fe) |
| 10 photos of Braggite associated with Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
| 9 photos of Braggite associated with Pyrite | FeS2 |
| 9 photos of Braggite associated with Pentlandite | (NixFey)Σ9S8 |
| 9 photos of Braggite associated with Vysotskite | PdS |
| 5 photos of Braggite associated with Moncheite | Pt(Te,Bi)2 |
| 5 photos of Braggite associated with Cooperite | PtS |
| 4 photos of Braggite associated with Vasilite | (Pd,Cu)16(S,Te)7 |
Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping
| 2.CC. | Eliopoulosite | V7S8 |
| 2.CC. | Tilkerodeite | Pd2HgSe3 |
| 2.CC. | 'UM2007-26-S:CuFeIrNiPtRh' | (Ir,Cu,Ni,Pt,Rh,Fe)9S11 |
| 2.CC. | Proxitwelvefoldite | Pd3Ni4Te8 |
| 2.CC. | Ferrotorryweiserite | Rh5Fe10S16 |
| 2.CC. | Tamuraite | Ir5Fe10S16 |
| 2.CC. | Crowningshieldite | (Ni0.9Fe0.1)S |
| 2.CC. | Kuvaevite | Ir5Ni10S16 |
| 2.CC. | Torryweiserite | Rh5Ni10S16 |
| 2.CC.05 | Achávalite | FeSe |
| 2.CC.05 | Langisite | CoAs |
| 2.CC.05 | Sederholmite | NiSe |
| 2.CC.05 | Freboldite | CoSe |
| 2.CC.05 | Nickeline | NiAs |
| 2.CC.05 | Sobolevskite | PdBi |
| 2.CC.05 | Jaipurite | CoS |
| 2.CC.05 | Kotulskite | Pd(Te,Bi)2-x (x ≈ 0.4) |
| 2.CC.05 | Zlatogorite | NiCuSb2 |
| 2.CC.05 | Stumpflite | PtSb |
| 2.CC.05 | Sudburyite | PdSb |
| 2.CC.05 | Breithauptite | NiSb |
| 2.CC.10 | Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
| 2.CC.10 | Smythite | (Fe,Ni)3+xS4 (x=0-0.3) |
| 2.CC.10 | Troilite | FeS |
| 2.CC.15 | Ruthenarsenite | (Ru,Ni)As |
| 2.CC.15 | Westerveldite | (Fe,Ni,Co)As |
| 2.CC.15 | Modderite | CoAs |
| 2.CC.15 | Minakawaite | RhSb |
| 2.CC.15 | Cherepanovite | RhAs |
| 2.CC.20 | 'UM1990-38-S:CuFeIrNiPtRh' | (Ni,Fe,Rh,Cu,Ir,Pt)S |
| 2.CC.20 | Millerite | NiS |
| 2.CC.20 | Mäkinenite | NiSe |
| 2.CC.25 | Mackinawite | FeS |
| 2.CC.30 | Vavřínite | Ni2SbTe2 |
| 2.CC.30 | 'Hexatestibiopanickelite' | (Pd,Ni)(Sb,Te) ? |
| 2.CC.35b | Cooperite | PtS |
| 2.CC.35a | Vysotskite | PdS |
| 2.CC.45 | Jacutingaite | Pt2HgSe3 |
| 2.CC.50 | 'Imgreite' | NiTe (?) |
Fluorescence of Braggite
Not fluorescent in UV
Other Information
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 Braggite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-751.html
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References for Braggite
Reference List:
Bannister, F. A. (1932) Determination of minerals in platinum concentrates from the Transvaal by X-ray methods. Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society, 23 (138) 188-206 doi:10.1180/minmag.1932.023.138.05
Bannister, F. A. (1932) Determination of minerals in platinum concentrates from the Transvaal by X-ray methods. Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society, 23 (138) 188-206 doi:10.1180/minmag.1932.023.138.05
Bannister, F. A. (1937) The Discovery of Braggite. Zeitschrift für Kristallographie, 96 (1). 201 doi:10.1524/zkri.1937.96.1.201
Gaskell, T. F. (1937) The Structure of Braggite and Palladium Sulphide. Zeitschrift für Kristallographie, 96 (1). 203-213 doi:10.1524/zkri.1937.96.1.203
Ramdohr, Paul (1969) The Ore Minerals and their Intergrowths. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 1174pp. doi:10.1016/c2013-0-10027-x
Childs, J. D., Hall, S. R. (1973) The crystal structure of braggite, (Pt, Pd, Ni)S. Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry, 29 (7) 1446-1451 doi:10.1107/s056774087300470x
Cabri, Louis J., Laflamme, J. H. Gilles, Stewart, John M., Turner, Kent, Skinner, Brian J. (1978) On cooperite, braggite, and vysotskite. American Mineralogist, 63 (9-10) 832-839
Criddle, Alan J., Stanley, Christopher J. (1985) Characteristic optical data for cooperite, braggite and vysotskite. The Canadian Mineralogist, 23 (2) 149-162
Verryn, Sabine M. C., Merkle, Roland K. W. (1994) Compositional variation of cooperite, braggite, and vysotskite from the Bushveld Complex. Mineralogical Magazine, 58 (391) 223-234 doi:10.1180/minmag.1994.058.391.05
Merkle, R. K. W., Pikl, R., Verryn, S. M. C., De Waal, D. (1999) Raman spectra of synthetic ‘braggite’, (Pd,Pt,Ni)S. Mineralogical Magazine, 63 (3) 363-367 doi:10.1180/minmag.1999.063.3.07
Franklyn, C.B, Merkle, R.K.W (1999) Milli-PIXE of coexisting cooperite and braggite – a comparison with electron probe microanalysis. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 158 (1). 550-555 doi:10.1016/s0168-583x(99)00498-x
Verryn, S. M. C., Merkle, R. K. W. (2000) Synthetic "Cooperite", "Braggite", and "Vysotskite" in the system PtS-PdS-NiS at 1100°C, 1000°C, and 900°C. Mineralogy and Petrology, 68 (1) 63-73 doi:10.1007/s007100050003
Merkle, Roland K. W., Verryn, Sabine M. C. (2003) Cooperite and braggite from the Bushveld Complex: implications for the miscibility gap and identification. Mineralium Deposita, 38 (3) 381-388 doi:10.1007/s00126-003-0347-2
Localities for Braggite
Showing 163 localities.
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The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
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? - 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).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
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Mokopane, Mogalakwena Local Municipality, Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo, South Africa