Chalcopyrite

August 31, 2002

At 09:20 AM 8/31/02 -0700, you wrote:

>chalcopyrite is also sometimes marketed as Peacock stone both Bornite

>and Chalcopyrite can have that iridescent surface ..........suspend ....a

>while finding them and writing about visible differences between the two

>Peggy

THE MINERAL CHALCOPYRITE

· Chemistry: CuFeS2, Copper Iron Sulfide

· Class: ·Sulfides

· Group: Chalcopyrite

· Uses: Major ore of copper

Chalcopyrite (or copper pyrite), looks like, and is easily confused with

Pyrite, FeS2.

Chalcopyrite is one of the minerals refered to as " Fool's Gold " because of

its bright golden color. But real gold is a more buttery yellow and is

ductile and malleable.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

· Color is brassy yellow, tarnishes to iridescent blues, greens,

yellows and purples.

· Luster is metallic.

· Transparency: Crystals are opaque.

· Crystal System is tetragonal; bar 4 2m

· Crystal Habits are predominantly the disphenoid which is like two

opposing wedges and resembles a tetrahedron. Crystals sometines twinned.

Also commonly massive, and sometimes botryoidal.

· Cleavage is rather poor in one direction.

· Fracture is conchoidal and brittle.

· Hardness is 3.5-4

· Specific Gravity is approximately 4.2 (average for metallic minerals)

· Streak is dark green.

· Other Characteristics: Some striations on most crystal faces.

· Associated Minerals are ·quartz, ·fluorite, · barite, ·dolomite,

·calcite,

·pentlandite, ·pyrite and other ·sulfides.

· Notable Occurances include Chile, Peru, Mexico, Europe, South Africa,

several USA sites and many others around the world.

· Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, tarnish, softness and

brittleness.

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