Editing Skutterudite (section)

{{Short description|Cobalt arsenide mineral}}
{{infobox mineral
| name        = Skutterudite
| category    = Arsenide mineral
| boxwidth    = 
| boxbgcolor  = 
| image       = Skuttérudite.jpg
| imagesize   = 
| alt         = 
| caption     = Skutterudite from Bou Azzer, Morocco
| formula     = CoAs<sub>3</sub>
| IMAsymbol   = Skt<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}</ref>
| molweight   = 
| strunz      = 2.EC.05
| dana        =
| system      = [[Cubic crystal system|Cubic]]
| class       = Diploidal (m{{overline|3}}) <br />[[H-M symbol]]: (2/m {{overline|3}})
| symmetry    = ''I''m{{overline|3}}
| unit cell   = a = 8.204&nbsp;Å, Z&nbsp;=&nbsp;8
| color       = Tin-white to silver-gray, tarnishes gray or iridescent; in polished section, gray, creamy or golden white
| colour      = 
| habit       = Crystals are cubes, octahedra, dodecahedra, rarely prismatic; in skeletal growth forms, distorted aggregates; also massive, granular
| twinning    = On {112} as sixlings and complex shapes
| cleavage    = Distinct on {001} and {111}; in traces on {011}
| fracture    = Conchoidal to uneven
| tenacity    =
| mohs        = 5.5–6
| luster      = Metallic
| streak      = Black
| diaphaneity = Opaque
| gravity     = 6.5
| fluorescence= 
| absorption  =
| melt        = 
| fusibility  = 
| diagnostic  = 
| solubility  = 
| other       = 
| alteration  = 
| references  = <ref name=atlas>{{cite web|url=https://www.mineralienatlas.de/lexikon/index.php/MineralData?mineral=Skutterudite |publisher=Mineral Atlas |title=Skutterudite |access-date=May 29, 2025|date=2025}}</ref><ref name="Handbook">{{cite book|access-date=20 October 2024 |chapter=Skutterudite |chapter-url=http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/skutterudite.pdf |date=29 January 1990 |editor1=Anthony, John W. |editor2=Bideaux, Richard A. |editor3=Bladh, Kenneth W. |editor4=Nichols, Monte C. |isbn=0962209724 |location=Chantilly, VA |publisher=Mineralogical Society of America |title=Handbook of Mineralogy |url-status=live |volume=III (Halides, Hydroxides, Oxides)}}</ref><ref name=mindat>{{cite web|title=Skutterudite|url=https://www.mindat.org/min-3682.html|website=Mindat.org|publisher=Hudson Institute of Mineralogy|access-date=May 29, 2025|date=2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dana |first=James Dwight |last2=Klein |first2=Cornelis |last3=Hurlbut |first3=Cornelius S. |title=Manual of Mineralogy (after James D. Dana) |publisher=J. Wiley and sons |publication-place=New York Chichester Brisbane [etc.] |year=1985 |isbn=0-471-80580-7 |page=289|url=https://archive.org/details/manualofmineralo00klei |url-access=registration |via=the [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>
}}
'''Skutterudite''' is a [[cobalt]] [[arsenide mineral]] containing variable amounts of [[nickel]] and [[iron]] substituting for cobalt with the ideal formula CoAs<sub>3</sub>. Some references give the arsenic a variable formula subscript of 2–3. High nickel varieties are referred to as nickel-skutterudite, previously chloanthite. It is a [[hydrothermal]] ore mineral found in moderate to high temperature veins with other Ni-Co minerals. Associated minerals are [[arsenopyrite]], native [[silver]], [[erythrite]], [[annabergite]], [[nickeline]], [[cobaltite]], silver [[sulfosalt]]s, native [[bismuth]], [[calcite]], [[siderite]], [[barite]] and [[quartz]].<ref name=Handbook/> It is mined as an ore of cobalt and nickel with a by-product of [[arsenic]].

The [[crystal structure]] of this mineral has been found to be exhibited by several [[chemical compound|compounds]] with important technological uses.

The mineral has a bright metallic luster, and is tin white or light steel gray in color with a black streak. The [[specific gravity]] is 6.5 and the [[Mohs hardness scale|hardness]] is 5.5–6. Its [[crystal structure]] is [[Cubic (crystal system)|isometric]] with cube and octahedron forms similar to that of [[pyrite]]. The arsenic content gives a garlic odor when heated or crushed.