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Chalcopyrite is much softer than pyrite and can be scratched with a knife, whereas pyrite cannot be scratched by a knife. [14] However, chalcopyrite is harder than gold, which, if pure, can be scratched by copper. [15] Chalcopyrite has a distinctive black streak with green flecks in it. Pyrite has a black streak and gold has a yellow streak. [16]
A newer commercial use for pyrite is as the cathode material in Energizer brand non-rechargeable lithium metal batteries. [20] Pyrite is a semiconductor material with a band gap of 0.95 eV. [21] Pure pyrite is naturally n-type, in both crystal and thin-film forms, potentially due to sulfur vacancies in the pyrite crystal structure acting as n ...
It is found in association with galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite (and other sulfides), calcite, dolomite, quartz, rhodochrosite, and fluorite. [ 6 ] German geologist Ernst Friedrich Glocker discovered sphalerite in 1847, naming it based on the Greek word sphaleros , meaning "deceiving", due to the difficulty of identifying the mineral.
Pyrrhotite may be confused with other brassy sulfide minerals like pyrite, chalcopyrite, or pentlandite. Certain diagnostic characteristics can be used for identification in hand samples. Unlike other common brassy-colored sulfide minerals, pyrrhotite is typically magnetic (varies inversely with iron content). [14]
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 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.
Galena is the main ore of lead, used since ancient times, [6] since lead can be smelted from galena in an ordinary wood fire. [7] Galena typically is found in hydrothermal veins in association with sphalerite , marcasite , chalcopyrite , cerussite , anglesite , dolomite , calcite , quartz , barite , and fluorite .
Covellite (gray) replacing and embaying chalcopyrite (light), polished section from Horn Silver Mine, San Francisco Mining District, Utah. Enlarged to 210 diameters. Enlarged to 210 diameters. Covellite (also known as covelline ) is a rare copper sulfide mineral with the formula CuS. [ 4 ]