THE MINERALOGY OF Pt-Fe ALLOYS AND PHASE RELATIONS IN THE Pt-Fe BINARY SYSTEM

A revised Pt-Fe phase diagram is proposed to replace those used in the materials science literature (e.g., Okamoto 2004), and to improve the one of Cabri & Feather (1975) by adding high-temperature phase equilibria data published in the mineralogical literature. The projected solid-solution fields at room temperature in the pure Pt-Fe system lie at the following approximate compositions: for gamma(Pt,Fe) from Pt to Pt0.78Fe0.22, for Pt3Fe from Pt3.04Fe0.96 to Pt2.64Fe1.36, for PtFe from Pt(1.16)Fe(0.84 )to Pt0.67Fe0.33, and for PtFe3 from Pt1.26Fe2.94 to Pt0.68Fe3.32. The phase relations and phase boundaries are discussed and evaluated for Pt-Fe alloys occurring in pristine intrusive rocks and ores as well as in eluvial and placer deposits derived from the former by physical and chemical weathering over long periods of geologic time. In spite of the variable concentrations of minor and trace elements, the natural Pt-Fe alloy minerals correlate well with phase relations in the pure Pt-Fe binary system.