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Bornite
Bornite, also known as peacock ore, is a sulfide mineral with chemical composition that crystallizes in the orthorhombic system (pseudo-cubic). It is an important copper ore. Appearance Bornite has a brown to copper-red color on fresh surfaces that tarnishes to various iridescent shades of blue to purple in places. Its striking iridescence gives it the nickname ''peacock copper'' or ''peacock ore''. Mineralogy Bornite is an important copper ore mineral and occurs widely in porphyry copper deposits along with the more common chalcopyrite. Chalcopyrite and bornite are both typically replaced by chalcocite and covellite in the supergene enrichment zone of copper deposits. Bornite is also found as disseminations in mafic igneous rocks, in contact metamorphic skarn deposits, in pegmatites and in sedimentary cupriferous shales. It is important as an ore for its copper content of about 63 percent by mass. Structure At temperatures above , the structure is isometric with a un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digenite
Digenite is a copper sulfide mineral with formula: Cu9S5. Digenite is a black to dark blue opaque mineral that crystallizes with a trigonal–hexagonal scalenohedral structure. In habit it is usually massive, but does often show pseudo-cubic forms. It has poor to indistinct cleavage and a brittle fracture. It has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 to 3 and a specific gravity of 5.6. It is found in copper sulfide deposits of both primary and supergene occurrences. It is typically associated with and often intergrown with chalcocite, covellite, djurleite, bornite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. The type locality is Sangerhausen, Thuringia, Germany, in copper slate deposits. Occurrence Digenite occurs in the transitional zone of supergene oxidation of primary sulfide ore deposits, at the interface between the upper and lower saprolite ore zones. It is rarely an important mineral for copper ores, as it is more usually replaced by chalcocite further up in the weathering profile, and is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement. Copper is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable, unalloyed metallic form. This means that copper is a native metal. This led to very early human use in several regions, from . Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, ; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, ; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulfide Mineral
The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide () as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenide mineral, selenides, the telluride mineral, tellurides, the arsenide mineral, arsenides, the antimonide mineral, antimonides, the bismuthinides, the sulfarsenides and the sulfosalts.http://www.minerals.net/mineral/sort-met.hod/group/sulfgrp.htm Minerals.net Dana Classification, SulfidesKlein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., 1986, ''Manual of Mineralogy'', Wiley, 20th ed., pp 269-293 Sulfide minerals are inorganic compounds. Minerals Common or important examples include: * Acanthite *Chalcocite *Bornite *Galena *Sphalerite *Chalcopyrite *Pyrrhotite *Millerite *Pentlandite *Covellite *Cinnabar *Realgar *Orpiment *Stibnite *Pyrite *Marcasite *Molybdenite Sulfarsenides: *Cobaltite *Arsenopyrite *Gersdorffite Sulfosalts: *Pyrargyrite *Pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite ( ) is a copper iron sulfide mineral and the most abundant copper ore mineral. It has the chemical formula CuFeS2 and crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a Mohs scale, hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Its Streak (mineralogy), streak is diagnostic as green-tinged black. On exposure to air, chalcopyrite tarnishes to a variety of oxides, hydroxides, and sulfates. Associated copper minerals include the sulfides bornite (Cu5FeS4), chalcocite (Cu2S), covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu9S5); carbonates such as malachite and azurite, and rarely oxides such as cuprite (Cu2O). It is rarely found in association with native copper. Chalcopyrite is a conductor of electricity. Copper can be extracted from chalcopyrite ore using various methods. The two predominant methods are pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, the former being the most commercially viable. Etymology The name chalcopyrite comes from the Greek words , which means cop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skarn
Skarns or tactites are coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by replacement of carbonate-bearing rocks during regional or contact metamorphism and metasomatism. Skarns may form by metamorphic recrystallization of impure carbonate protoliths, bimetasomatic reaction of different lithologies, and infiltration metasomatism by magmatic- hydrothermal fluids. Skarns tend to be rich in calcium-magnesium-iron-manganese-aluminium silicate minerals, which are also referred to as calc-silicate minerals.Ray, G.E., and Webster, I.C.L. (1991): An Overview of Skarn Deposits; in Ore Deposits, Tectonics and Metallogeny in the Canadian Cordillera; McMillan, W.J., compiler, B. C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1991-4, pages 213-252.Meinert, L.D., 1992. Skarns and Skarn Deposits; Geoscience Canada, Vol. 19, No. 4, p. 145-162.Hammarstrom, J.M., Kotlyar, B.B., Theodore, T.G., Elliott, J.E., John, D.A., Doebrich, J.L., Nash, J.T., Carlson, R.R., Lee, G.K., Livo, K.E., Klein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supergene (geology)
In ore deposit geology, supergene processes or enrichment are those that occur relatively near the surface as opposed to deep hypogene processes. Supergene processes include the predominance of meteoric water circulation (i.e. water derived from precipitation) with concomitant Redox, oxidation and chemical weathering. The descending meteoric waters oxidize the primary (hypogene) Sulfide mineral, sulfide ore minerals and redistribute the metallic ore elements. Supergene ''enrichment'' occurs at the base of the oxidized portion of an ore deposit. Metals that have been leached from the oxidized ore are carried downward by percolating groundwater, and react with hypogene sulfides at the supergene-hypogene boundary. The reaction produces secondary sulfides with metal contents higher than those of the primary ore. This is particularly noted in copper ore deposits where the copper sulfide minerals chalcocite (Cu2S), covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu18S10), and djurleite (Cu31S16) are deposited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalcocite
Chalcocite (), copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S), is an important copper ore mineral. It is opaque and dark gray to black, with a metallic luster. It has a hardness of 2.5–3 on the Mohs scale. It is a sulfide with a monoclinic crystal system. The term ''chalcocite'' from the Greek ''khalkos'', meaning "copper". It is also known as redruthite, vitreous copper, or copper-glance. Occurrence Chalcocite is sometimes found as a primary vein mineral in hydrothermal veins. However, most chalcocite occurs in the supergene enriched environment below the oxidation zone of copper deposits as a result of the leaching of copper from the oxidized minerals. It is also often found in sedimentary rocks. It has been mined for centuries and is one of the most profitable copper ores. The reasons for this is its high copper content (66.7% atomic ratio and nearly 80% by weight) and the ease at which copper can be separated from sulfur. Since chalcocite is a secondary mineral that forms from the al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covellite
Covellite (also known as covelline) is a rare copper sulfide mineral with the formula CuS. This indigo blue mineral is commonly a secondary mineral in limited abundance and although it is not an important ore of copper itself, it is well known to mineral collectors. The mineral is generally found in zones of secondary enrichment ( supergene) of copper sulfide deposits. Commonly found as coatings on chalcocite, chalcopyrite, bornite, enargite, pyrite, and other sulfides, it often occurs as pseudomorphic replacements of other minerals. The first records are from Mount Vesuvius, formally named in 1832 after N. Covelli. Composition Covellite belongs to the binary copper sulfides group, which has the formula CuxSy and can have a wide-ranging copper/sulfur ratio, from 1:2 to 2:1 (Cu/S). However, this series is by no means continuous and the homogeneity range of covellite CuS is narrow. Materials rich in sulfur CuSx where x~ 1.1- 1.2 do exist, but they exhibit " superstructures", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulfide Mineral
The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide () as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenide mineral, selenides, the telluride mineral, tellurides, the arsenide mineral, arsenides, the antimonide mineral, antimonides, the bismuthinides, the sulfarsenides and the sulfosalts.http://www.minerals.net/mineral/sort-met.hod/group/sulfgrp.htm Minerals.net Dana Classification, SulfidesKlein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., 1986, ''Manual of Mineralogy'', Wiley, 20th ed., pp 269-293 Sulfide minerals are inorganic compounds. Minerals Common or important examples include: * Acanthite *Chalcocite *Bornite *Galena *Sphalerite *Chalcopyrite *Pyrrhotite *Millerite *Pentlandite *Covellite *Cinnabar *Realgar *Orpiment *Stibnite *Pyrite *Marcasite *Molybdenite Sulfarsenides: *Cobaltite *Arsenopyrite *Gersdorffite Sulfosalts: *Pyrargyrite *Pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crystallization
Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with highly organized Atom, atoms or Molecule, molecules, i.e. a crystal. The ordered nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization. Crystallization can occur by various routes including Precipitation (chemistry), precipitation from solution, freezing of a liquid, or Deposition (phase transition), deposition from a gas. Attributes of the resulting crystal can depend largely on factors such as temperature, air pressure, cooling rate, or Solution (chemistry), solute concentration. Crystallization occurs in two major steps. The first is nucleation, the appearance of a crystalline phase from either a Supercooling, supercooled liquid or a supersaturation, supersaturated solvent. The second step is known as crystal growth, which is the increase in the size of particles and leads to a crystal state. An important feature of this step is that loose particles fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
