Cattierite (CoS₂) is a

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, ...

sulfide mineral The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide (S22−) as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenides, the tellurides ...

found in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It was discovered together with the nickel sulfide

vaesite Vaesite ( Ni S2) is a mineral found together with cattierite in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is named after Johannes F. Vaes Johannes Franciscus Vaes (1902 – 1978) was a Belgian mineralogist and geologist associated with the Union ...

Johannes F. Vaes Johannes Franciscus Vaes (1902 – 1978) was a Belgian mineralogist and geologist associated with the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga, in Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Vaes discovered the mineral Vaesite, which was ...

, a Belgian mineralologist and named after Felicien Cattier, who was chairman of the board of the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga. The mineral belongs to the pyrite group, in which all minerals share the same building principle. The metal in the oxidation state +2 forms a

sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35 ...

structure together with the anion S₂²⁻. This formalism recognizes that the sulfur atoms in pyrite occur in pairs with clear S-S bonds. It occurs with

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

, chalcopyrite and members of the linnaeite – polydymite group in ore deposits in carbonate rocks. In addition to the type locality in the Katanga district it is reported from Gansberg,

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...

, Germany; near Filipstad, Varmland, Sweden; Bald Knob, near

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

, Alleghany County, North Carolina and in the Fletcher mine of

Reynolds County, Missouri Reynolds County is a county located in the Ozark Foothills Region in the Lead Belt of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,096. Its county seat is Centerville. The county was officially organized on February 25, 1845, and was ...

References

Cobalt minerals Pyrite group Cubic minerals Minerals in space group 205 Minerals described in 1945 {{sulfide-mineral-stub