Brezinaite, discovered in 1969, is a rare mineral composed of

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

and

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

. It is found in

meteorites A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheri ...

, such as the

Tucson Ring meteorite The Tucson Ring meteorite is a brezinaite meteorite fragment, first described by Bunch and Fuchs. It was reported as one of several masses of virgin iron found at the foot of the Sierra de la Madera and transported to the plaza of Tucson, Arizona ...

(Irwin-Ainsa meteorite), its type locality. It was also found in the New Baltimore meteorite and the

Sikhote-Alin meteorite In southeastern Russia, an iron meteorite fell on the Sikhote-Alin mountains in 1947. Large iron meteorite falls have been witnessed, and fragments have been recovered, but never before in recorded history has a fall of this magnitude occurred. An ...

. Brezinaite was named in honour of Aristides Brezina (1848–1909), a past director of the Mineralogy-Petrology Section of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

References

Chromium minerals Sulfide minerals Meteorite minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 12 {{sulfide-mineral-stub