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Formula: PbCu4FeBiS6
Sulphosalt, bismuth-bearing mineral
Specific gravity: 6.06 calculated
Hardness: 4
Colour: Pale grey to greyish-white in reflected light
Environments
Miharaite occurs in skarn, as a product of
contact metamorphism (Mindat). Associated
minerals include wittichenite,
bornite, chalcopyrite
and galena
(HOM).
Localities
At the type locality, the Honpi deposit, Mihara mine, Higashi-Mihara, Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan,
the deposit is a is a metasomatic bornite-rich
skarn deposit of copper. The bornite occurs as disseminations in a
hedenbergite-garnet-epidote
skarn associated commonly with
chalcopyrite. Both miharaite and
wittichenite occur both as separate grains and also associated
with chalcopyrite and/or
galena as small granules or drops (10-30 microns) in the
bornite, and sometimes along grain boundaries of
bornite as stringers or chains of drops. It is suggested that
wittichenite, as well as
chalcopyrite, is probably a product of exsolution from a
bornite solid solution stable at high temperature. Miharaite
occurs only microscopically, generally several tens of microns in size but up to 0.3 mm, as tiny granular
drop-like shapes or irregular masses, closely associated with
chalcopyrite, galena
and sometimes wittichenite
(AM 65.784-788).
At the Imooka mine, Kagamino-cho, Tomata District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, miharaite occurs in a
mineralised quartz vein through
granite
(HOM).
At the Ulsan Mine, Buk District, Ulsan, South Korea, miharaite occurs in a
bornite vein in copper
skarn ore
(HOM).
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