Compostition: FeTe2O5(OH)
Crystal System: Tetragonal
Color: Bottle green to olive green
Type Locality: Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, Esmeralda County, Nevada
Mackayite is a secondary mineral found in the oxidized zones of tellurium-bearing ore deposits. The mineral was named for John William Mackay, a Comstock miner and later silver baron, who endowed the Mackay School of Mines at UNR. It was first described in 1944 from the Mohawk Mine in Goldfield, where it occurs with other tellurium minerals such as emmonsite, tellurite, and native tellurium. Mackayite is a very rare mineral, and crystals generally do not reach sizes of over one millimeter. Other localities noted for mackayite are the Tombstone District in Arizona and the Moctezuma District in Sonora, Mexico.
 Mackayite on altered rock, McGinnity Shaft, Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, Nevada. Specimen is 4.8 centimeters wide. |
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Close-up of specimen at left, with a covering of well-formed mckayite crystals. Field of view is about 1 centimeter. |
 UNR
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