The application of Raman spectroscopy to djerfisherite identification

Raman spectra were acquired from the synthetic cubic K6Fe25S26Cl phase (55.3 wt% Fe) and ten natural djerfisherites K6(Fe,Cu,Ni)25S26Cl with various contents of Fe (from 15.5 to 22.6 atoms per formula unit (apfu)) and Ni + Cu + Co (from 1.4 to 9.0 apfu). The natural samples came from rocks of the Udachnaya, Obnazhennaya and Vtorogodnitsa kimberlite pipes and high‐grade contact marbles near Kochumdek River (Siberian craton, Russia). Diagnostic features of both synthetic and natural djerfisherite Raman spectra can be summarized as follows: the presence of two strong bands at 264–273 and 321–344 cm−1 and from two to five medium/weak bands in the region from 90 to 190 cm−1. Raman spectra of Fe‐rich ((Ni + Cu + Co)