Nomenclature

The name of the mineral comes from the localilty of Tripuhy, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where it was discovered. Hussak and Prior first described the mineral tripuhyite as an oxide of iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 and antimony

Antimony

Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...

, and assigned it the composition Fe₂Sb₂O₇. When a mineral with composition FeSbO₄ was later discovered in Squaw Creek, New Mexico (USA), it was considered erroneously as a new mineral and it was given the name squawcreekite. However, other studies had shown that the original tripuhyite was also FeSbO₄. In 2002, the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names (CNMMN) of the International Mineralogical Association

International Mineralogical Association

The International Mineralogical Association is an international group of 38 national societies. The goal is to promote the science of mineralogy and to standardize the nomenclature of the 4000 plus known mineral species...

(IMA), approved the redefinition of tripuhyite as FeSbO₄ and the discreditation of squawcreekite.