This metallic-looking mineral is called Chalcopyrite.
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Chalcopyrite
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Chalcopyrite is a mineral the color of brass, with metallic overtones. It resembles another mineral called "pyrite". The name chalcopyrite means "copper pyrite", from the Greek "chalkos" meaning "copper" and the "pyrite" which had the general meaning of something that, when struck, would produce sparks (although chalcopyrite does not have that property). The chemical name for chalcopyrite is " copper iron sulfide ", which means that it is of the sulfide family. It contains molecules of copper, iron, and sulfur, unlike pyrite which is only composed of iron and sulfur. Chalcopyrite is an important ore of copper, and is the most common copper-bearing mineral on Earth. Because it is found in hydrothermal veins, the easiest way to extract copper from the earth is to mine hydrothermal veins where chalcopyrite is likely to be. Chalcopyrite dissolves in nitric acid, which separates the sulfur from the iron and copper which form the rest of the mineral. This means that chalcopyrite alters naturally to minerals of the sulfate family; malachite, azurite, and limonite.
Facts about Chalcopyrite
chemical name:
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copper iron sulfide
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chemical formula:
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CuFeS2
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color:
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brassy dark yellow, sometimes a greenish-black cast, sometimes an iridescent tarnish
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hardness:
on a scale of 1-8
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3.5 - 4.0
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specific gravity:
(density)
on a scale of 1-19
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4.2 - 4.3
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crystal:
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tetragonal (pseudotetrahedral crystals common, sometimes massive) The pseudotetrahedral crystals are disphenoidal
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fracture:
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conchoidal
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cleavage:
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incomplete
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environment:
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Chalcopyrite is found in high temperature hydrothermal veins, and in contact metamorphics. It is found in streams and riverbeds, high mountians (areas which were once under water), and at the bottom of the sea.
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associated with:
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Chalcopyrite is usually associated with the minerals pyrite, sphaleerite, pyrrhotite, fluorite, tetrahedrite.
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locales:
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Chalcopyrite is found around the world, in France, Chile , Zambia, Peru, Germany, Spain; and in the USA in Montana, Arizona, and Utah
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