In the initial studies of khatyrkite, a negative correlation was observed between copper and zinc, i.e. the higher the copper the lower the zinc content and vice versa, which is why the formula was specified as (Cu,Zn)Al₂. It was found later that iron can be substituted for zinc.
The mineral is opaque and has a steel-gray yellow tint in reflected light, similar to native platinum.
Isotropic sections are light blue whereas anisotropic ones are blue to creamy pink.
Strong optical anisotropy is observed when the crystals are viewed in polarized light.
Khatyrkite forms dendritic, rounded or irregular grains, typically below 0.5 millimeter in size, which are intergrown with cupalite.
They have a tetragonal symmetry with point group 4/m 2/m 2/m, space group I4/mcm and lattice constants a = 0.607(1) nm, c = 0.489(1) nm and four formula units per unit cell.
The crystalline structure parameters are the same for khatyrkite and synthetic CuAl₂ alloy.
The density, as calculated from XRD the lattice parameters, is 4.42 g/cm³. The crystals are malleable, that is they deform rather than break apart upon a strike; they have the Mohs hardness is between 5 and 6 and Vickers hardness is in the range 511–568 kg/mm² for a 20–50 gram load and 433–474 kg/mm² for a 100 gram load.

Khatyrkite and cupalite are accompanied by spinel, corundum, stishovite, augite, forsteritic olivine, diopsidic clinopyroxene and several Al-Cu-Fe metal alloy minerals.
The presence of unoxidized aluminium in khatyrkite and association with the stishovite—a form of quartz which exclusively forms at high pressures of several tens gigapascals—suggest that the mineral was formed in a high-energy impact involving the object that became the Khatyrka meteorite.
In the initial studies of khatyrkite, a negative correlation was observed between copper and zinc, i.e. the higher the copper the lower the zinc content and vice versa, which is why the formula was specified as (Cu,Zn)Al₂. It was found later that iron can be substituted for zinc. The mineral is opaque and has a steel-gray yellow tint in reflected light, similar to native platinum. Isotropic sections are light blue whereas anisotropic ones are blue to creamy pink. Strong optical anisotropy is observed when the crystals are viewed in polarized light. Khatyrkite forms dendritic, rounded or irregular grains, typically below 0.5 millimeter in size, which are intergrown with cupalite. They have a tetragonal symmetry with point group 4/m 2/m 2/m, space group I4/mcm and lattice constants a = 0.607(1) nm, c = 0.489(1) nm and four formula units per unit cell. The crystalline structure parameters are the same for khatyrkite and synthetic CuAl₂ alloy. The density, as calculated from XRD the lattice parameters, is 4.42 g/cm³. The crystals are malleable, that is they deform rather than break apart upon a strike; they have the Mohs hardness is between 5 and 6 and Vickers hardness is in the range 511–568 kg/mm² for a 20–50 gram load and 433–474 kg/mm² for a 100 gram load.
Khatyrkite and cupalite are accompanied by spinel, corundum, stishovite, augite, forsteritic olivine, diopsidic clinopyroxene and several Al-Cu-Fe metal alloy minerals. The presence of unoxidized aluminium in khatyrkite and association with the stishovite—a form of quartz which exclusively forms at high pressures of several tens gigapascals—suggest that the mineral was formed in a high-energy impact involving the object that became the Khatyrka meteorite.
Khatyrkite