Uses of Chalcopyrite The only important use of chalcopyrite is as an ore of copper, but this single use should not be understated. Chalcopyrite has been the primary ore of copper since smelting began over five thousand years ago. Some chalcopyrite ores contain significant amounts of zinc substituting for iron.

Chalcopyrite from Mosaboni Mine, Mosaboni, East (Purbi) Singhbhum District, Jharkhand, India

Chalcopyrite also contains gold, nickel, and cobalt in solid solution and may be closely associated with PGMs formed by mafic/ultramafic igneous intrusive and in greenstone belts. Chalcopyrite is the primary source of copper metal associated with many high value commodities.

Chalcopyrite is an accessory mineral in Kambalda type komatiitic nickel ore deposits, formed from an immiscible sulfide liquid in sulfide-saturated ultramafic lavas. In this environment chalcopyrite is formed by a sulfide liquid stripping copper from an immiscible silicate liquid.

Next to chalcopyrite, copper-glance is the most important ore of copper. It usually occurs in the upper part of the copperbearing lodes, and is a secondary sulphide derived from the chalcopyrite met with at greater depths; sometimes, however, the two minerals are found together in the same part of the lodes.

Among all the ores of copper, most of them are sulphide ores which proves the deep affinity of copper for sulphide ions. Only a few ores of copper are oxide ores, and one among them is the cuprite or the cuprous oxide. Hence, the correct answer is option C, oxide ore.

Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral with 57.48% copper in the purest form, and its presence is an excellent exploration guide for discovery of new mineral deposits.

Some copper sulfides are economically important ores. Prominent copper sulfide minerals include Cu2S (chalcocite) and CuS (covellite). In the mining industry, the minerals bornite or chalcopyrite, which consist of mixed copper-iron sulfides, are often referred to as “copper sulfides”.

Copper can be extracted from its ore by: Underground: sinking a vertical shaft into the Earth to an appropriate depth and driving horizontal tunnels into the ore. This trickles slowly through the ore dissolving copper to form copper sulfate. The copper is recovered by electrolytic refining.

Azurite is a soft, deep-blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. During the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite, after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France.

Significant examples include: argentite (silver sulfide), cinnabar (mercury sulfide), galena (lead sulfide), molybdenite (molybdenum sulfide), pentlandite (nickel sulfide), realgar (arsenic sulfide), and stibnite (antimony), sphalerite (zinc sulfide), and pyrite (iron disulfide), and chalcopyrite (iron-copper sulfide).

Gold(I) sulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula Au2S. It is the principal sulfide of gold. It decomposes to gold metal and elemental sulfur, illustrating the “nobility” of gold.

Names. Other names. Iron sulfide, ferrous sulfide, black iron sulfide, protosulphuret of iron. Identifiers.

Magnetite – Fe3O4; Copper glance – Cu2S.

Argentite, a silver sulfide mineral, is an important constituent of silver ore deposits. It contains 87% silver, and forms blackish-gray coatings or masses with a metallic luster and a shining black STREAK.

Ores are defined as the minerals that contain higher concentrations of certain elements which are most of the time metal. All ores are minerals, and metals can be extracted commercially. But all minerals are not ores because some of the minerals have unwanted substances.

Galena