Taenite
Alloy of iron and nickel found in meteorites
title: "Taenite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["iron-minerals", "nickel-minerals", "meteorite-minerals", "magnetic-minerals", "cubic-minerals", "minerals-in-space-group-225", "native-element-minerals", "nickel-alloys", "ferroalloys"] description: "Alloy of iron and nickel found in meteorites" topic_path: "general/iron-minerals" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taenite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Alloy of iron and nickel found in meteorites ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox mineral"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Taenite |
| category | Metals and intermetallic alloys |
| image | Widmanstatten patterns 2.jpg |
| imagesize | 260px |
| caption | Widmanstätten patterns of kamacite and taenite, from a meteorite currently in the Natural History Museum, London. |
| formula | |
| IMAsymbol | Tae |
| strunz | 1.AE.10 |
| system | Isometric |
| class | Hexoctahedral (mm) |
| H-M symbol: (4/m 2/m) | |
| symmetry | Fm3m |
| color | Metallic grayish to white |
| cleavage | None |
| fracture | Hackly |
| tenacity | Malleable, flexible |
| mohs | 5–5.5 |
| luster | Metallic |
| streak | Light gray |
| diaphaneity | Opaque |
| gravity | 7.8–8.22 |
| other | Non-radioactive, magnetic. |
| references | |
| :: |
| name = Taenite | category = Metals and intermetallic alloys | boxwidth = | boxbgcolor = | image = Widmanstatten patterns 2.jpg | imagesize = 260px | caption = Widmanstätten patterns of kamacite and taenite, from a meteorite currently in the Natural History Museum, London. | formula = | IMAsymbol = Tae | molweight = | strunz = 1.AE.10 | system = Isometric | class = Hexoctahedral (mm) H-M symbol: (4/m 2/m) | symmetry = Fm3m | color = Metallic grayish to white | habit = | twinning = | cleavage = None | fracture = Hackly | tenacity = Malleable, flexible | mohs = 5–5.5 | luster = Metallic | streak = Light gray | diaphaneity = Opaque | gravity = 7.8–8.22 | density = | polish = | opticalprop = | refractive = | birefringence = | pleochroism = | 2V = | dispersion = | extinction = | length fast/slow = | fluorescence= | absorption = | melt = | fusibility = | diagnostic = | solubility = | other = Non-radioactive, magnetic. | alteration = | references =
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Widmanstatten_hand.jpg" caption="Widmanstätten pattern showing the two forms of Nickel-Iron, Kamacite and Taenite, in an octahedrite meteorite"] ::
Taenite is a mineral found naturally on Earth mostly in iron meteorites. It is an alloy of iron and nickel, with a chemical formula of and nickel proportions of 20% up to 65%.
The name is derived from the Greek ταινία for "band, ribbon". Taenite is a major constituent of iron meteorites. In octahedrites it is found in bands interleaving with kamacite forming Widmanstätten patterns, whereas in ataxites it is the dominant constituent. In octahedrites a fine intermixture with kamacite can occur, which is called plessite.
Taenite is one of four known Fe-Ni meteorite minerals: The others are kamacite, tetrataenite, and antitaenite.
Properties
It is opaque with a metallic grayish to white color. The structure is isometric-hexoctahedral (cubic). Its density is around 8 g/cm3 and hardness is 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale. Taenite is magnetic, in contrast to antitaenite. The structure is isometric-hexoctahedral (cubic). The crystal lattice has the c≈a=. The Strunz classification is I/A.08-20, while the Dana classification is 1.1.11.2.
Meteorite localities with taenite
- Campo del Cielo strewn field in Argentina.
- Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve in Australia.
- Canyon Diablo in Arizona.
References
- Mason B., 1962: Meteorites. J. Wiley & Sons, New York
References
- Warr, L.N.. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine.
- (2005). "Taenite". Mineral Data Publishing.
- http://webmineral.com/data/Taenite.shtml {{Webarchive. link. (2021-01-22 Webmineral data)
- (Jun 1978). "Structure of taenite in two iron meteorites J.". Nature.
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