Bowlesite is a new mineral discovered in the Merensky Reef of the Rustenburg Platinum Mine, Bushveld complex, South Africa. Bowlesite forms tiny grains (maximum dimension 20 μm). It is associated with sulfides including chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pentlandite, in contact with silicates including plagioclase, pyroxene- and minor serpentine-subgroup and amphibole-supergroup minerals. Bowlesite is brittle and has a metallic lustre. In plane-polarised light, bowlesite has a light bluish grey colour. It shows weak bireflectance, no pleochroism and has weak anisotropism. Internal reflections were not observed. Reflectance values of bowlesite in air (R1, R2 in %) are: 50.3–51.4 at 470 nm, 48.5–48.9 at 546 nm, 47.9–48.6 at 589 nm and 47.8–48.7 at 650 nm. Ten spot analyses of bowlesite give the average composition: Pt 56.85, Pd 0.02, Sn 34.03 and S 9.15, total 100.05 wt.%, corresponding to the empirical formula (Pt1.001Pd0.001)Σ1.002Sn0.997S1.001, based on 3 atoms per formula unit. The simplified formula is PtSnS. Due to the small size of bowlesite, the crystal structure was solved and refined from the powder X-ray-diffraction data of synthetic PtSnS. The calculated density is 10.06 g⋅cm–3. The mineral is orthorhombic, space group: Pca21 (#29) with a = 6.11511(10), b = 6.12383(10), c = 6.09667(11) Å, V = 228.31(1) Å3 and Z = 4. Bowlesite is isotypic with cobaltite, CoAsS. The origin of bowlesite is probably related to low-T exsolution of Pt–Sn phases from high-T sulfides crystallised from the sulfide melt. The mineral honours Dr. John Bowles (Manchester University, UK) for his contributions to ore mineralogy and mineral deposits related to mafic–ultramafic rocks.

Bowlesite是在南非Bushveld复杂区Rustenburg铂金矿的梅伦斯基礁发现的一种新矿物。钙铝石形成微小晶粒（最大尺寸为20μm）。它与硫化物包括黄铜矿，黄铁矿和膨润土，与硅酸盐接触，包括斜长石，辉石和次要蛇纹石亚族和闪石超族矿物。铝镁铝石是脆性的，具有金属光泽。在平面偏振光下，红铝矿具有浅蓝色。它显示出弱双折射，没有多色性并且具有弱的各向异性。没有观察到内部反射。铝镁铝矿在空气中的反射率值（R 1，R 2以％计）是：470 nm处为50.3-51.4，546 nm处为48.5-48.9，589 nm处为47.9-48.6，650 nm处为47.8-48.7。bowlesite的十点分析得到的平均组成：PT 56.85，钯0.02，锡34.03和S 9.15，总100.05重量％，对应于该经验式（PT 1.001钯0.001）Σ1.002锡0.997 š 1.001，根据3每个公式单位的原子数。简化公式为PtSnS。由于青铜矿的尺寸小，因此可以根据合成PtSnS的粉末X射线衍射数据解析并精炼晶体结构。所计算出的密度为10.06g⋅cm -3。矿物是正交晶体，空间群：Pca 2 1（＃29），其中= 6.11511（10），b = 6.12383（10），C ^ = 6.09667（11）A，V = 228.31（1）埃3和ž = 4 Bowlesite是同种型与辉钴矿，CoAsS。铝镁矾石的起源可能与硫化物熔体中结晶出的高T硫化物对Pt-Sn相的低T析出有关。该矿物表彰约翰·鲍尔斯博士（英国曼彻斯特大学），他对与镁铁质-超镁铁质岩石有关的矿石矿物学和矿床做出了贡献。