Chalcopyrite
Encyclopedia : C : CH : CHA : Chalcopyrite
| Chalcopyrite | |
|---|---|
| |
| General | |
| Category | Mineral |
| Chemical formula | copper iron sulfide:CuFeS2 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Brass yellow, may have iridescent purplish tarnish. |
| Crystal habit | predominantly the disphenoid and resembles a tetrahedron. Crystals sometines twinned. Also commonly massive, and sometimes botryoidal. |
| Crystal system | tetragonal bar 4 2m |
| Cleavage | [112] Indistinct |
| Fracture | conchoidal and brittle |
| Mohs Scale hardness | 3.5 |
| Luster | metallic |
| Refractive index | opaque |
| Pleochroism | N/A |
| Streak | dark green |
| Specific gravity | 4.1 - 4.3 |
| Fusibility | 2 |
| Solubility | ? |
| Other Characteristics | magnetic on heating |
| Major varieties | |
Chalcopyrite is often confused with pyrite, although the latter has a cubic and not a tetragonal crystal system. Further, chalcopyrite is more often massive and less brittle. Chalcopyrite is also a darker yellow in color.
Chalcopyrite is one of the most important copper ores. Chalcopyrite ore occurs in a variety of ore types, from huge masses as at Timmins, Ontario, to irregular veins and disseminations associated with granitic to dioritic intrusives as in the porphyry copper deposits of Broken Hill, the American cordillera and the Andes.
|
References
- Dana's Manual of Mineralogy ISBN 0471032883
- [mindat.org]
- [Webmineral.com]
- [Mineral Galleries]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.