Mechanical milling and hydrogen reduction of pure oxide mixture and magnetic characterisation of Co–Fe–Cu ternary alloy nanopowders were investigated. A powder mixture of Co3O4, CuO and Fe2O3 with Co50Fe40Cu10 stoichiometry was first milled by a high energy planetary ball mill and then reduced in a hydrogen reduction system. The optimum condition of the reduction under the hydrogen atmosphere was 650uC and 1 h. The X-ray diffraction patterns exhibit that the powder has ordered bcc structure with b2–bcc space group and 2?87 A° lattice parameter. Mean crystallite sizes calculated from X-ray diffraction results and mean particle size observed from electron microscopes were over 75 nm. Magnetic evaluation of ternary alloy nanopowders showed a saturation magnetisation value about 143 Am2 kg21 and a low coercivity value of 0?93 Am21
