Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite is a
copper iron sulfide
mineral that crystallizes in the
tetragonal system. It has the chemical composition CuFeS2. It has a
brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Due to its color and high copper content, chalcopyrite has often been referred to as "yellow copper".
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.
Encyclopedia
| 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 a
copper iron sulfide
mineral that crystallizes in the
tetragonal system. It has the chemical composition CuFeS
2. It has a
brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Due to its color and high copper content, chalcopyrite has often been referred to as "yellow copper".
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 0-471-03288-3
