Mohawkite is a rare rock consisting of mixtures of arsenic , silver, nickel, skutterudite and copper, with the formula Cu₃As up to Cu₆As, and the most desirable material was usually found in white quartz

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** '' The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchi ...

. It has a hardness of 3-3.5 and a metallic luster. It is named after the Mohawk mine where it was originally found. Colors range from brassy-yellow to metallic gray, and sometimes will have a blue or greenish surface tarnish. These colors come from its two main ingredients, the arsenic-rich copper minerals algodonite and

domeykite Domeykite is a copper arsenide mineral, Cu3As. It crystallizes in the isometric system, although crystals are very rare. It typically forms as irregular masses or botryoidal forms. It is an opaque, white to gray (weathers brassy) metallic mineral ...

. Its color may resemble pyrrhotite, but unlike pyrrhotite, mohawkite is not

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

.Lynch, Dan R., and Bob Lynch. "Mohawkite." Michigan Rocks & Minerals. Ed. Brett Ortler. N.p.: Adventure Publications, n.d. N. pag. Print.

Etymology and origin

Mohawkite is believed to be found only in a copper mine located on the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...

of Michigan, known as the

Mohawk Mine The Mohawk Mining Company was a major copper mining company, based in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, that was established in November 1898 and lasted until 1932. The company, between 1906 and 1932, paid out more than $15 million in shareho ...

. The Mohawk Mine is where mohawkite was first discovered, in January 1900, near No. 1 shaft when a

fissure vein Copper mining in Michigan became an important industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its rise marked the start of copper mining as a major industry in the United States. Geology Within the state of Michigan, copper is found almost ex ...

of copper ore was cut. Specimens of this ore were sent to George A Koenig, of the

Michigan College of Mines Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

(now known as Michigan Technological University) for analysis. The ore was believed to be an entirely new mineral and was named mohawkite by Koenig. A reanalysis of the material in 1971 found it to be an intimate mixture of copper and nickel arsenides and the mohawkite name was discredited as a mineral species.Moore, Paul B.; ''Copper-Nickel Arsenides of the Mohawk No. 2 Mine, Mohawk, Keweenaw Co., Michigan,'' American Mineralogist, V. 56, July-August, 197
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Uses

Mohawkite, being a copper ore, is used for obtaining copper. However, when the copper is removed, it is toxic due to the amounts of arsenic in it. Mohawkite, particularly when it contains quartz, is often used in jewelry because of its appearance.

References

External links

{{wiktionary
Mohawkite
a
Mindat
Rocks Geology of Michigan

Etymology and origin

Uses

See also

References

External links