Laurite is an opaque black, metallic ruthenium sulfide mineral with formula: RuS₂. It crystallizes in the isometric system. It is in the pyrite structural group. Though rare, it occurs in many parts of the world.

General information

Laurite has a Mohs hardness of 7.5 and a specific gravity of 6.99. It can contain osmium, rhodium, iridium, and iron substituting for the ruthenium. It occurs in ultramafic layered magmatic cumulate deposits and sedimentary placer deposits derived from them.

Discovery

It was discovered in 1866 in Borneo, Malaysia and named for Laurie, the wife of Charles A. Joy, an American chemist.

References

• Mindat location data
• Webmineral