About Chalcopyrite

CuFeS₂

A brass-yellow copper-iron sulfide that is the most important ore of copper; it is softer than pyrite and more brittle than gold, and it tarnishes to iridescent blues, purples and greens.

Show 13 localities on the map

Photos of Chalcopyrite

**Chalcopyrite** · Viburnum Trend
Chalcopyrite crystals up to about 1 cm on matrix from the Sweetwater Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

**Chalcopyrite** · Cavnic
Mirror-bright, brass-yellow twinned chalcopyrite crystals with quartz and dolomite.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

**Chalcopyrite** · Animón Mine (Huarón mining district)
Elongated hoppered galena crystals on bronze, iridescent chalcopyrite.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

**Chalcopyrite** · Huarón Mine (Huarón Mining District)
Chalcopyrite crystals up to 2.5 cm set in a nest of quartz points.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

**Chalcopyrite** · Yaogangxian Mine
Sharp chalcopyrite crystals with strong iridescent tarnish from the Yaogangxian Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

**Chalcopyrite** · Neudorf (Harzgerode)
Sharp chalcopyrite crystals over 1 cm on crystallized siderite.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

**Chalcopyrite** · Ellenville Mine (Ellenville Lead Mine; Ulster mine)
Chalcopyrite crystals up to 2 cm across on a quartz matrix.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

**Chalcopyrite** · Dalnegorsk
Gunmetal-grey chalcopyrite crystals up to 2 cm embedded in sphalerite.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

Where Chalcopyrite is found (13)

Canada

Kidd Creek MineOntario

China

Yaogangxian MineHunan · 3 photos

Germany

Neudorf (Harzgerode)Saxony-Anhalt · 2 photos

Namibia

Tsumeb MineOshikoto Region

Peru

Animón Mine (Huarón mining district)Pasco · 3 photos
HuanzalaAncash
Huarón Mine (Huarón Mining District)Pasco · 3 photos

Romania

CavnicMaramures County · 3 photos

Russia

DalnegorskPrimorsky Krai · 1 photo

Spain

Atalaya open pit (Rio Tinto Mines)Huelva

United States

Butte Mining DistrictMontana
Ellenville Mine (Ellenville Lead Mine; Ulster mine)New York · 2 photos
Viburnum TrendMissouri · 3 photos

Chalcopyrite on the same specimen with other minerals

Same specimen Galena growing on Chalcopyrite at Viburnum Trend

Gunmetal-grey galena cubes sit on a chalcopyrite matrix in specimens from the Buick Mine in the Viburnum Trend.

A bright metallic lead sulfide on a brassy copper sulfide gives a strong colour and luster contrast in a Mississippi Valley-type specimen.

Sources: SRC-047

Same specimen Amethyst growing on Chalcopyrite at Cavnic

On the same type of Cavnic plate, iridescent brassy chalcopyrite crystals occur on the matrix together with the pyrite, and the amethyst clusters rise from this sulfide-covered matrix.

The iridescent chalcopyrite adds a second metallic colour beneath the purple quartz.

Sources: SRC-160 SRC-161

Same specimen Chalcopyrite growing on Quartz at Yaogangxian Mine

A Yaogangxian specimen has a floret of sharp golden chalcopyrite sphenoids, about 3 cm, set on a tabular doubly terminated quartz crystal; contacts are healed and overgrown by quartz faces.

Iridescent chalcopyrite on a glassy, doubly terminated quartz is a rare and aesthetic floater-type piece.

Sources: SRC-162

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Marcasite at Sweetwater Mine

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show marcasite with chalcopyrite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Fluorite with Chalcopyrite at Yaogangxian Mine

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with fluorite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Quartz with Chalcopyrite at Cavnic

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with quartz together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Sphalerite with Chalcopyrite at Cavnic

2 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with sphalerite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Chalcopyrite at Cavnic

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Galena with Chalcopyrite at Cavnic

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with galena together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Quartz with Chalcopyrite at Animón Mine (Huarón mining district)

2 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with quartz together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Quartz with Chalcopyrite at Huarón Mine (Huarón Mining District)

Same specimen Sphalerite with Chalcopyrite at Huarón Mine (Huarón Mining District)

Same specimen Quartz with Chalcopyrite at Ellenville Mine (Ellenville Lead Mine; Ulster mine)

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Sphalerite at Commodore Mine (Amethyst vein, Creede)

3 specimen photo(s) from this locality show sphalerite with chalcopyrite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Sphalerite at 2nd Sovetskii Mine (Partizanskoe deposit)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show sphalerite with chalcopyrite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Sphalerite at Camp Bird Mine

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Sphalerite at Joplin Field

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Pyrite at Sweetwater Mine

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show pyrite with chalcopyrite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Dolomite with Chalcopyrite at Cavnic

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with dolomite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Siderite with Chalcopyrite at Neudorf (Harzgerode)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with siderite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Dolomite at Black Rock (Lawrence County Zinc District)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show dolomite with chalcopyrite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Bornite at Huarón Mine (Huarón Mining District)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show bornite with chalcopyrite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Bornite at Dashkesan Co-Fe deposit

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Rhodochrosite at Eagle Mine (Gilman)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show rhodochrosite with chalcopyrite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Chalcopyrite with Rhodochrosite at Starnitsa deposit (Davidkovo ore field)

Identity

Also called: yellow copper
Group: Chalcopyrite Group
Strunz: 2.CB.10a · 2 Sulfides and sulfosalts
IMA status: Grandfathered
Name origin: From Greek 'chalkos' (copper) and 'pyrites' (stone that strikes fire); named by Johann Friedrich Henckel in 1725.
Elements: Cu, Fe, S

Physical properties

Color: Brass-yellow; commonly tarnished with an iridescent film
Streak: Greenish black
Luster: Metallic luster
Transparency: Opaque
Mohs hardness: 3.5–4
Density: 4.1–4.3 g/cm³
Cleavage / fracture: Cleavage poor on {011} and {111}; fracture conchoidal; brittle
Magnetism / fluorescence: Reported to become magnetic on heating

Crystallography

Crystal system: Tetragonal
Space group: I-42d
Structure: Tetragonal cell with a = 5.281 Å, c = 10.401 Å and Z = 4 (point group -42m); shares its tetragonal structure type with other members of the chalcopyrite group such as gallite, laforêtite, lenaite, roquesite and shenzhuangite.
Typical habit: Equant, pseudo-tetrahedral (disphenoidal) crystals, sometimes modified by scalenohedral faces; far more often massive, compact or disseminated; occasionally botryoidal
Twinning: Twin planes {112} and {012}; rotation twins about [001] with a {110} composition plane give penetration twins
Optical data: Opaque; weakly anisotropic in reflected light; reflectance rises from roughly 16-17% at 400 nm to roughly 47-49% at 600-700 nm

Formation and use

Formation: Hydrothermal veins, stockworks, disseminations and massive replacements; porphyry copper systems; volcanogenic massive sulfide and sedimentary exhalative deposits; exsolution product in mafic igneous rocks and accessory in magmatic nickel sulfide deposits; also in sedimentary settings controlled by redox conditions.
Uses: Principal ore of copper, smelted (pyrometallurgy) or leached (hydrometallurgy) to produce the metal; collector's specimen.
Stability and care: Tarnishes in air to oxides, hydroxides and sulfates, producing an iridescent surface; weathering in nature gives secondary copper minerals such as malachite, azurite and brochantite.

Related minerals

Related minerals: Eskebornite (forms a series with chalcopyrite)gallitelaforêtitelenaiteroquesiteshenzhuangite (chalcopyrite group)
Can be confused with: Pyritegold

Sources

SRC-030 · Book
Handbook of Mineralogy - ChalcopyriteAnthony, J.W.; Bideaux, R.A.; Bladh, K.W.; Nichols, M.C. · Mineralogical Society of America
SRC-031 · Database
Chalcopyrite: Mineral information, data and localities (Mindat.org)Mindat.org / Hudson Institute of Mineralogy
SRC-032 · Website
Chalcopyrite (Wikipedia)Wikipedia
SRC-033 · Website
The mineral chalcopyrite (Amethyst Galleries)Amethyst Galleries

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.