Definition
pentlandite
noun
- A brassy-yellow mineral consisting of nickel and iron sulfide, an important ore of nickel.
Usage: mineralogy; geology
Examples
- Pentlandite is the primary source of nickel in many mining operations worldwide.
- The ore sample contained significant deposits of pentlandite mixed with other sulfide minerals.
- Geologists identified pentlandite in the rock formation through X-ray diffraction analysis.
- Pentlandite typically occurs in association with pyrrhotite in magmatic nickel deposits.
- The refining process extracts nickel from pentlandite through smelting and chemical separation.