Kamiokite is an iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

-molybdenum

Molybdenum

Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...

 oxide

Oxide

An oxide is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom in its chemical formula. Metal oxides typically contain an anion of oxygen in the oxidation state of −2....

 mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 with the chemical formula Fe₂Mo₃O₈. The name kamiokite is derived from the locality, the Kamioka Mine in Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

, Japan, where this mineral was first discovered in 1975.

Kamiokite is a hexagonal system with equal axes a₁, a₂, a₃. These three axes of the kamiokite crystal

Crystal

A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...

 are uniformly separated by 120°. Kamiokite is an anisotropic mineral, meaning that light travels through the mineral in different directions and velocities. Kamiokite is strongly pleochroic and is also birefringent.

Kamiokite can be found as inclusions in domeykite

Domeykite

Domeykite is a copper arsenide mineral, Cu3As. It crystallizes in the isometric system, although crystals are very rare. It typically forms as irregular masses or botryoidal forms. It is an opaque, white to gray metallic mineral with a Mohs hardness of 3 to 3.5 and a specific gravity of 7.2 to...

, algodonite

Algodonite

Algodonite is a copper arsenide mineral with formula: Cu6As. It is a gray white metallic mineral crystallizing in the hexagonal system. It has a Mohs hardness of 4 and a specific gravity of 8.38 - 8.72....

, and magnetite

Magnetite

Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...

. Kamiokite is associated with copper arsenides found in Michigan's Mohawk and Ahmeek copper mines. Although rare, kamiokite is predominantly found in mining environments and can indicate the presence of other minerals of interest, such as copper in the case of the Mohawk and Ahmeek mines. It is speculated that kamiokite can enhance the concentration of the copper it is hosted in.

There are no known health risks associated with this mineral.