The Nd16Co76-xRu xC7B system has been investigated to assess the effect of boron-carbon combined addition on the ferromagnetic behavior of these intermetallic compounds. The results indicate that the addition of 1 at.% B favors the formation of the tetragonal magnetic phase 2:14:1 in these alloys. With the increase of the Ru concentration is observed an expansion of the lattice in the basal plane as well as a contraction along the c direction of the tetragonal unit cell. The Curie temperature decreases from 432 K at x = 6 to 421 K for x = 27, whereas the saturation magnetization has a steep decrease. The highest T C value has been verified for the alloy with the largest c parameter, despite its a parameter is the smallest one. In comparison to isotypic borides and pure carbides, a loss of coercivity and remanence is observed.

We performed a Mössbauer spectroscopy study of the iron meteorite Soledade. This meteorite, which consists of a metallic matrix, is an octahedrite with polycrystalline troilite, cohenite, schreibersite and rhabdites as major constituents. A chemical analysis indicates 6.78 % Ni, 0.46% Co, besides traces of Cu, Cr, Ga, Ge, As, Sb, W, Re, Ir and Au. No traces of silicates have been found and no oxygen was detected. Iron is appearing in the austhenitic phase and alloyed with nickel. An analysis of the Mössbauer spectra at room temperature indicates that the Fe-Ni phase is homogeneously distributed in the matrix, although variations in the composition between different regions are observed.