Chalcopyrite

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Chalcopyrite
Twinned chalcopyrite crystal frae the Camp Bird Mine, Ouray Coonty, Colorado. Crystal is aboot 1 cm x 1 cm.
General
CategorySulfide mineral
Formula
(repeatin unit)
CuFeS2
Strunz clessification02.CB.10a
Creestal seestemTetragonal Scalenohedral 42m
Space groupTetragonal 42m – scalenohedral
Unit cella = 5.289 Å, c = 10.423 Å; Z = 4
Identification
Formula mass183.54
ColourBrass yellae, mey hae iridescent purplish tarnish.
Creestal habitPredominantly the disphenoid an resembles a tetrahedron, commonly massive, an whiles botryoidal.
TwinninPenetration twins
CleavageIndistinct on {011}
FracturIrregular tae uneven
TenacityBrickle
Mohs scale haurdness3.5
SkinkleMetallic
StreakGreenish black
DiaphaneityOpaque
Speceefic gravity4.1 – 4.3
SolubilitySoluble in HNO3
Ither chairacteristicsmagnetic on heatin
References[1][2][3][4][5]

Chalcopyrite (/kalkoˈpairəit/) is a copper airn sulfide mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal seestem. It haes the chemical composeetion CuFeS2. It haes a brassy tae gowden yellae colour an a haurdness o 3.5 tae 4 on the Mohs scale. Its streak is diagnostic as green tinged black.

On exposur tae air, chalcopyrite oxidises tae a variety o oxides, hydroxides an sulfates. Associated copper minerals include the sulfides bornite (Cu5FeS4), chalcocite (Cu2S), covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu9S5); carbonates lik malachite an azurite, an rarely as oxides lik cuprite (Cu2O). Chalcopyrite is rarely foond in association wi native copper.

References[eedit | eedit soorce]

  1. Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., Manual of Mineralogy, Wiley, 20th ed., 1985, pp. 277 – 278 ISBN 0-471-80580-7
  2. Palache, C., H. Berman, and C. Frondel (1944) Dana’s system of mineralogy, (7th edition), v. I, 219–224
  3. http://www.mindat.org/min-955.html mindat.org
  4. http://webmineral.com/data/Chalcopyrite.shtml Webmineral.com
  5. Handbook of Mineralogy