Sperrylite

Sperrylite
General
Category	Arsenide mineral Pyrite group
Formula (repeating unit)	PtAs2
IMA symbol	Spy[1]
Strunz classification	2.EB.05a
Crystal system	Isometric
Crystal class	Diploidal (m3) H-M symbol: (2/m 3)
Space group	Pa3
Unit cell	a = 5.967 Å, Z = 4
Identification
Color	Tin white
Crystal habit	Well-formed finely crystalline, massive to reniform
Cleavage	Indistinct on {001}
Fracture	Conchoidal
Tenacity	Brittle
Mohs scale hardness	6–7
Luster	Metallic
Streak	Black
Specific gravity	10.58
References	[2][3][4]

Sperrylite is a platinum arsenide mineral with the chemical formula PtAs₂ and is an opaque metallic tin white mineral which crystallizes in the isometric system with the pyrite group structure. It forms cubic, octahedral or pyritohedral crystals in addition to massive and reniform habits. It has a Mohs hardness of 6–7 and a very high specific gravity of 10.6.

It was discovered by Francis Louis Sperry, an American chemist, in 1889 at Sudbury.

The most important occurrence of sperrylite is in the nickel ore deposit of Sudbury Basin in Ontario, Canada. It also occurs in the layered igneous complex of the Bushveld region of South Africa and the Oktyabr'skoye copper-nickel deposit of the Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia.