Kayupovaite is a new mineral named in honor of Maria Mikhailovna Kayupova (1921–1980), the mineralogist who studied the Ushkatyn-III deposit (Kazakhstan), the type of locality of the described mineral. Kayupovaite is monoclinic and of space group C2/c. The mineral belongs to the group of modulated manganese phyllosilicates and is structurally related to stilpnomelane. The absence of iron in the mineral is a result of oxidative Mn–Fe fractionation during the formation of braunite-rich Mn ores.

The Ertelien and Langedalen Ni–Cu sulfide deposits are hosted in gabbronorite intrusions formed in a convergent margin. The Ertelien deposit contains contact-related sulfides, whereas the Langedalen deposit hosts massive sulfides within extensively deformed gabbronorite lenses. Both are depleted in platinum-group elements (PGEs), which could be related to a metasomatized pyroxenitic mantle source. Isotopic data support a subduction-related origin around 1550 Ma, with magmatic signatures preserved despite later alteration.