Chalcopyrite is a copper-iron sulfide mineral with the ideal formula CuFeS2 and is one of the world’s most important copper ore minerals. It occurs in many deposit types, including volcanogenic massive sulfide, porphyry, skarn, hydrothermal vein, and magmatic sulfide systems. Its widespread occurrence makes chalcopyrite central to many copper beneficiation and metallurgical flowsheets.
These elements are often found is this element in the following Deposit Types:
Deposit Type: Magmatic Ni-Cu Sulfide - Nickel-copper sulfide deposits formed by segregation and concentration of sulfide liquids in mafic-ultramafic magmas.
Chalcopyrite is the principal copper-bearing sulfide mineral in many magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits.
Deposit Type: Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) - Sulfide deposits formed by seafloor hydrothermal systems and commonly enriched in copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver.
Chalcopyrite is a principal copper-bearing sulfide mineral in copper-bearing VMS deposits.
Deposit Type: Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE Sulfide - Magmatic sulfide deposits enriched in nickel, copper, and platinum-group elements (PGE) within mafic-ultramafic systems.
Chalcopyrite is part of the principal sulfide assemblage concentrated during processing; palladium may occur within major sulfides and/or in discrete PGE minerals.
Deposit Type: Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE Sulfide - Magmatic sulfide deposits enriched in nickel, copper, and platinum-group elements (PGE) within mafic-ultramafic systems.
Chalcopyrite is part of the sulfide assemblage recovered to concentrate; platinum is commonly also present in discrete PGE minerals rather than being a major structural component of chalcopyrite.