An iron–nickel alloy or nickel–iron alloy, abbreviated FeNi or NiFe, is a group of alloys consisting primarily of the elements nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe). It is the main constituent of the "iron" planetary cores and iron meteorites. In chemistry, the acronym NiFe refers to an iron–nickel catalyst or component involved in various chemical reactions, or the reactions themselves; in geology, it refers to the main constituents of telluric planetary cores.
Widmanstätten pattern in NiFe octahedrite meteorite
Telluric iron, also called native iron, is iron that originated on Earth, and is found in a metallic form rather than as an ore. Telluric iron is extremely rare, with only one known major deposit in the world, located in Greenland.
Sawed slab of basalt with bright, metallic native-iron inclusions from Uivfaq, Disko Island (specimen size: 7.8 cm × 3.5 cm × 0.6 cm (3.07 in × 1.38 in × 0.24 in))
Native iron from basalt quarry at Bühl, Weimar, district of Kassel, Germany (size: 6.6 × 5.9 × 1.8 cm)