Recently, following review and voting by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (IMA-CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association, a new bismuth sulfosalt mineral—Sunshuite—jointly proposed by Dr. Huikaituan, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Researchers Qin Kezhang, Cao Mingjian, and Jia Lihui; Professor Li Guowu, Dr. Sun Ningyue, and Dr. Xue Yuan from China University of Geosciences (Beijing); and Researcher Li Ting from the Beijing Research Institute of Nuclear Geology, has been officially approved. The new mineral has been assigned the International Mineralogical Association number IMA2025-013.

The chemical formula of Sunshu pyrite-bismuth sulfide is FeBi₂S₄. It is gray in color and belongs to the monoclinic crystal system, with a space group of C2/m. Sunshu pyrite-bismuth sulfide is part of the pavonite homologous series. This mineral series currently comprises more than ten members, and Sunshu pyrite-bismuth sulfide is the first mineral discovered and named by Chinese scientists.

The new mineral is named after Mr. Sun Shu, a renowned Chinese geologist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (1933–2018), in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the advancement of geology in China. This mineral is closely associated with gold and silver mineralization, and its discovery holds significant scientific value for deepening our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the migration, precipitation, and enrichment of metallic elements such as gold and silver. It can serve as an indicator mineral for the exploration of silver-gold mineralization.