| Chalcocite | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | |
| Category | Mineral |
| Chemical formula | copper(I) sulfide:Cu2S |
| Identification | |
| Color | dark-gray to black |
| Crystal habit | tabular to prismatic crystals also massive to granular |
| Crystal system | orthorhombic 2/m 2/m 2/m at < 105°C - hexagonal 6/m 2/m 2/m above 105°C |
| Cleavage | imperfect in two directions |
| Fracture | conchoidal |
| Mohs Scale hardness | 2. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific A chemical formula is a way of expressing information about the Atoms that constitute a particular Chemical compound, and how the relationship between those atoms changes Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 The term sulfide ( sulphide in British English) refers to several types of Chemical compounds containing Sulfur in its lowest Oxidation In Mineralogy, shape and size give rise to descriptive terms applied to the typical appearance or habit of Crystals The many terms used by mineralogists A crystal system is a category of Space groups which characterize Symmetry of structures in three dimensions with Translational symmetry in three directions In Crystallography, the orthorhombic Crystal system is one of the seven Lattice Point groups Orthorhombic lattices result from stretching Regular hexagon The internal Angles of a regular hexagon (one where all sides and all angles are equal are all 120 ° and the hexagon has 720 degrees Cleavage, in Mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes creating smooth surfaces of which there are several named types In the field of Mineralogy, fracture is a term used to describe the shape and texture of the surface formed when a Mineral is broken The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various Minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material 5 - 3 |
| Luster | metallic |
| Refractive index | opaque |
| Streak | shiny black to lead gray |
| Specific gravity | 5. Lustre (or luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a Crystal, rock, or Mineral. The refractive index (or index of Refraction) of a medium is a measure for how much the speed of light (or other waves such as sound waves is reduced inside the medium The streak (also called powder color) of a Mineral is the Color of the powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the Density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure typically 5 - 5. 8 |
| Fusibility | 2-2. Fusibility is the ease with which a material will Melt. Materials such as solder require a low melting point so that when heat is applied to a joint the solder will melt before 5 |
| Other Characteristics | sectile |
Chalcocite, copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S), is an important copper ore mineral. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining It is opaque, being colored dark-gray to black with a metallic luster. Lustre (or luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a Crystal, rock, or Mineral. It has a hardness of 2½ - 3. It is a sulfide with an orthorhombic crystal system. The term sulfide ( sulphide in British English) refers to several types of Chemical compounds containing Sulfur in its lowest Oxidation In Crystallography, the orthorhombic Crystal system is one of the seven Lattice Point groups Orthorhombic lattices result from stretching
Chalcocite is sometimes found as a primary vein mineral in hydrothermal veins. In the Circulatory system, a vein is a Blood vessel that carries Blood back toward the Heart (as opposed to Artery, a blood vessel Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water 'hydros' in the Greek meaning water and 'thermos' meaning heat 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. In Ore deposit Geology, supergene processes or enrichment occur relatively near the surface It is also often found in sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock types (the others being igneous and Metamorphic rock)
It has been mined for centuries and is one of the most profitable copper ores. The reasons for this is its high copper content (67% atomic ratio and nearly 80% by weight) and the ease at which copper can be separated from sulfur. Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 Still, it is not considered a primary source of copper ore due to its scarcity.
Fine crystals of chalcocite are quite uncommon and are much sought after. The now depleted mines at Cornwall, Great Britain and Bristol, Connecticut have produced the most famous clusters of wonderfully formed chalcocite crystals. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Bristol is a city located in Hartford County Connecticut, USA, 20 miles (32 km southwest of Hartford
Since chalcocite is a secondary mineral that forms from the alteration of other minerals, it has been known to form pseudomorphs of many different minerals. In Geology, a pseudomorph is a Mineral compound resulting from a substitution process in which the appearance and dimensions remain constant but the mineral which A pseudomorph is a mineral that has replaced another mineral atom by atom, but it leaves the original mineral's crystal shape intact. Chalcocite has been known to form pseudomorphs of the minerals bornite, covellite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, enargite, millerite, galena and sphalerite. Bornite is a Sulfide mineral with chemical composition Cu 5 Fe[[sulfur S]]4 that crystallizes in the Orthorhombic system Covellite (also known as covelline is a rare Copper sulfide mineral with the formula CuS Chalcopyrite (ˌkælkoʊˈpaɪraɪt kal-co-pie-right —"kal" as in " cal endar" "co" as in co de is a Copper Enargite is a Copper Arsenic Sulfosalt mineral with formula Cu3AsS4 Galena is the natural mineral form of Lead sulfide. It is the most important Lead Ore mineral Sphalerite (( Zn, Fe) S) is a Mineral that is the chief Ore of Zinc.
The term chalcocite comes from the alteration of the obsolete name chalcosine, from the Greek khalkos, meaning copper. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly It is also known as redruthite, vitreous copper and copper-glance.
References
- Dana's Manual of Mineralogy ISBN 0-471-03288-3
- mindat.org
- Webmineral.com
- Mineral Galleries
Gallery
 Chalcocite, Hartford Co. , CT USA |
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