KAMACITE

meteoritic mineral consisting of iron alloyed with 5 to 7 percent nickel. It is found in iron meteorites and comprises all the metal in hexahedrites; it also is a principal constituent of the octahedrites, where it is intergrown with taenite (meteoritic nickeliron). Its name is derived from the Greek word for shaft or lath and alludes to the shape of its crystals, which belong to the isometric system.