Image: <bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56247090" class="extiw" title="d:Q56247090"><span title="mineral collector and dealer">Robert M. Lavinsky</span></a></bdi> (CC BY-SA 3.0)

orthorhombiccommonSulfides

Chalcocite

Cu2S

The image shows dark, lead-gray to black chalcocite crystals with a distinct metallic luster. The crystals appear well-formed, possibly tabular or short prismatic.

Chalcocite Physical Properties

Mohs Hardness

2.5

Crystal System

orthorhombic

Luster

metallic

Streak Color

bluish-black to lead-gray

Cleavage

indistinct on {110}

Fracture

conchoidal

Specific Gravity

5.7

Colors

dark gray, black

Transparency

opaque

Type Locality

Mammoth Mine, Mount Gordon, Gunpowder District, Mt Isa - Cloncurry area, Queensland, Australia

Mineral Group

Sulfides

Uses

ore of copper

Associated Minerals

bornite, covellite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, native copper, quartz

Rarity

common

Geological Context

Chalcocite is a common copper sulfide mineral found in hydrothermal veins and sedimentary rocks, often forming in the supergene enrichment zones of copper deposits through the alteration of other copper sulfides.

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Related Specimens

Pyromorphite

Smoky Quartz

Chondrodite

Tourmaline

Spodumene

Inesite