Cuprous ferrite, CuFeO₂

Cuprous ferrite, CuFeO₂, occurs in nature as the mineral delafossite. It is not magnetic, is easily fusible, and readily soluble in hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. The crystals are tetragonal, possibly isomorphous with the sodium salt. It is obtained artificially by melting together cuprous and ferric oxides in a current of nitrogen. It then results as a crystalline mass, faintly magnetic.