Enargite, sulfosalt mineral, copper arsenic sulfide (Cu3AsS4), that is occasionally an important ore of copper.
Tetrahedrite, common sulfosalt mineral, an antimony sulfide of copper, iron, zinc, and silver [(Cu,Fe,Zn,Ag 12Sb4S13], that is an important ore of copper and sometimes of silver.
Nearly all cobalt is found associated with ores of copper, nickel, or copper-nickel.
Chalcocite, sulfide mineral that is one of the most important ores of copper.
Arsenious oxide, commonly known as white arsenic, is obtained as a by-product from the roasting of the ores of copper, lead, and certain other metals as well as by the roasting of arsenopyrite and arsenic sulfide ores.
Trace quantities of germanium are found in certain zinc blendes, in sulfidic ores of copper and arsenic, and in coals, the latter possibly a consequence of the concentration of the element by plants of the Carboniferous Period in geologic history.
General classification of the ore minerals of copper copper (percent)* Native copper ore native copper 99.9 Sulfide ores chalcocite 79.9 covellite 66.5 chalcopyrite 34.6 bornite 63.3 enargite 48.4 tetrahedrite 34.8 Oxide ores cuprite 88.8 tenorite 79.9 malachite 57.5 azurite 55.3 chalcanthite 25.5 brochantite 56.2 chrysocolla 33.9 *Approximate.
The table shows the ore minerals of copper and their compositions.
Massive ore deposits of copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold and other metals formed in this way.Over 1,500 minerals are thought to have formed on Earth before the beginnings of life some four billion years ago.
Immiscible sulfide drops can become segregated and form immiscible magma layers in a magma chamber in the same way that cumulus layers form; then, when layers of sulfide magma cool and crystallize, the result is a deposit of ore minerals of copper, nickel, and platinum-group metals in a gangue of an iron sulfide mineral.
In 1851 Sir Francis Galton, a British explorer, made note of copper ore deposits in the vicinity of what later became the town of Tsumeb.
