smaltite

[ smawl-tahyt ]

noun

1. a mineral, originally thought to have been a diarsenide of cobalt, CoAs 2 , but which is actually a skutterudite rich in cobalt.

smaltite

/ ˈsmɔːltaɪt /

noun

1. a silver-white to greyish mineral consisting chiefly of cobalt arsenide with nickel in cubic crystalline form. It occurs in veins associated with silver, nickel, and copper minerals, and is an important ore of cobalt and nickel. Formula: (Co,Ni)As 3-x

Word History and Origins

Origin of smaltite¹

First recorded in 1865–70; smalt + -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of smaltite¹

C19: from smalt + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

It was smaltite, an ore of the metal cobalt, closely resembling many of the silver ores.

From Project Gutenberg