Malanite was first found in veinlets of disseminated copper-nickel ores inZunhua County, Hebei Province, and then in platinum-bearing chromite ores in ShuangfengVillage, Yanshan. In the former case, malanite appears as octahedrons or dodecahedrons asso-ciated with pyrrhotite, pentlandite, sperrylite and cooperite; while in the latter case, it is massiveor present in anhedral glomerocrysts, filling in cracks of iridisite and associated with osmiride,ferrian platinum and iridisite. Malanite is steel-grey in colour, opaque with metallic lustre andblack streaks and brittle with no magnetism. H_M=5.0, VHN_(20)=417kg/mm~2, cleavage {111}sometimes observed. The calculated density is 7.57g/cm~3. The reflective colour is white with alight green tint. Internal reflections are not observed. This mineral is isotropic, showing nobireflection or reflection pleochroism in air. By means of electron microprobe analysis, the em-pirical formula (based on 7 atoms) is expressed as (Cu_(0.93)Fe_(0.06))_(∑0.99)(Pt_(1.03)Ir_(0.66)Rh_(0.04)Pd_(0.03)Co_(0.20)Ni_(0.03))_(1.99)S_(4.03) or (Cu_(0.95)Fe_(0.07))_(∑1.02)(Pt_(1.37)Ir_(0.45)Co_(0.11)Rh_(0.08))_(∑2.01)S_(3.97). Five strongestlines (hkl, d, I) of X-ray powder diffraction data of malanite are 311,2.98(6); 400,2.48(5);333, 1.90(7); 440, 1.75(10); 731, 1.29(5). It was known on the basis of X-ray powder diffractiondata that malanite is cubic, and the space group is Fd3m with α=0.9940nm, V=0.9821(3)nm~3 and Z=4. The type material of malanite is deposited at the Geological Museum of China(GMC)s