Taenite (Fe,Ni) is a mineral found mostly in iron meteorites. It is an alloy of iron and nickel, with nickel proportions of 20% up to 65%.
The name is derived from the Greek for "band". Taenite is a major constituent of iron meteorites. In octahedrites it is found in bands interleaving with kamacite forming Widmanstätten patterns.
Characteristics[]
Taenite is one of four known Fe-Ni meteorite minerals.It is opaque with a metallic grayish to white color. The structure is isometric-hexoctahedral. Its density is around 8 g/cm³ and hardness is 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale. Taenite is magnetic. The crystal lattice has the c≈a= 3.582ű0.002Å. The Strunz classification is I/A.08-20, while the Dana classification is 1.1.11.2 . It is a Hexoctahedral (cubic) in structure.