NICCOLITE: Cobalt, Ontario, Canada (polished cabochon ~1 inch long)
Niccolite is always cut as cabochons. The color is a delicate peachy red and is extremely beautiful, especially in polished material. The metallic luster combined with this unusual color is very distinctive. Niccolite is hard enough to be worn on bola ties and pendants. It sometimes tarnishes to a darker color, but a coat of clear nail polish may prevent this.
Niccolite Value
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Niccolite Information
| Data | Value |
| Name | Niccolite |
| Crystallography | Hexagonal. Crystals very rare; massive. |
| Colors | Pale coppery red; tarnishes black. |
| Luster | Metallic; Opaque. |
| Hardness | 5-5.5 |
| Density | 7.78. |
| Cleavage | None. Fracture uneven. Brittle. |
| Stone Sizes | Cabochons of any desired size could be cut from massive pieces. |
| Luminescence | None. |
| Formula | NiAs. |
Streak: Pale brownish black.
Occurrence: In vein deposits in basic igneous rocks, usually associated with ores of Ag, Co, and Ni,
Sonora, Mexico; Germany; France; Austria; Czechoslovakia; Japan.
California; Colorado; New Jersey.
Sudbury district, Ontario, Canada: in large masses; also at Cobalt, Thunder Bay, and the Gowganda district, Ontario.
Comments: Niccolite is always cut as cabochons. The color is a delicate peachy red and is extremely beautiful, especially in polished material. The metallic luster combined with this unusual color is very distinctive. Niccolite is hard enough to be worn on bola ties and pendants. It sometimes tarnishes to a darker color, but a coat of clear nail polish may prevent this.
Name: From niccolum, the Latin word for nickel.
