gsminmag Mineralogical Magazine Mineralogical Magazine 0026-461X Mineralogical Society 10.1180/minmag.1980.043.330.12 The Nickel Telluride Mineral Melonite from the Jaduguda Uranium Deposit, Singhbhum Shear Zone, Bihar, India Krishna Rao N. Narasimhan D. Rao G. V. U. Ore Dressing Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Chandralok, 111, Sarojini Devi Road, Hyderabad 500 003, (A.P.), India 6 1980 43 330 775 777 31 4 1979 Copyright © 1980, The Mineralogical Society 1980 Summary

The rare nickel telluride mineral melonite is identified from Jaduguda uranium ore, Singhbhum Shear Zone, Bihar, India. Its physical, optical, chemical, and paragenetic characteristics are described. The composition as obtained by EPMA is NiTe1.66Bi0.06 or approximately Ni3(Te,Bi)5. The association of melonite with molybenite in this ore deposit is unusual, since melonite is generally associated with tellurides of gold and silver. This is the first reported occurrence of melonite from India.