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Minerals of base metals
Published in Francis P. Gudyanga, Minerals in Africa, 2020
Copper (Cu) is characteristically known for its high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is ductile, soft and malleable and forms various copper sulphides such as chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and chalcocite (Cu2S). It also exists as the copper carbonates, azurite Cu3(CO3)2(OH) or CuCO3·Cu(OH)2 and malachite Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 or CuCO3·Cu(OH)2, and the copper(I) oxide mineral cuprite Cu2O.
Accelerating copper leaching from a complex ore containing atacamite: optimisation and kinetic studies
Published in Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly, 2023
Sepideh Javanshir, Hojat Imantalab, MohammadBagher Fathi
Copper is the third most consumed metal in the industry. Owing to the increasing demand and depletion of high-grade copper resources, copper extraction from different resources has attracted the attention of many producers and researchers [1]. Atacamite or copper(II) chloride hydroxide with the formula Cu2Cl(OH)3 is a comparatively rare mineral found in arid climates, in the oxidation zone of copper-rich deposits, deep seafloor vents, or as a product of copper-rich alloys’ corrosion. It also can form in saline soils contaminated with copper-containing mining effluents. So, this mineral is generally a copper hydroxide which is altered in a neutral to chlorine-rich environment [2,3]. This mineral is naturally found in several main porphyry deposits, including Cerro Colorado, Chuquicamata, El Abra, Escondida, Gaby Sur, Lomas Bayas, Radomiro Tomic, Spence, and also in other types of copper deposits, e.g. Michilla, Mantos Blancos, and Sierra Miranda atacamite [4]. Note that not only the copper content in atacamite (30%) is higher than that of malachite and azurite, but also it is rapidly dissolved in acid compared to other copper oxide minerals. Therefore, the leaching of atacamite can be interesting for both researchers and the industry.
Alteration and structural features mapping in Kacho-Mesqal zone, Central Iran using ASTER remote sensing data for porphyry copper exploration
Published in International Journal of Image and Data Fusion, 2021
Soheyla Beygi, Irina Vladimirovna Talovina, Meisam Tadayon, Amin Beiranvand Pour
During field survey, 14 stations were selected for detailed field checking and sampling (see Figures 8 and 9 for their spatial locations; Table 2). The spatial distribution of the identified hydrothermally altered rocks was verified through GPS surveying and rock sampling. Field photographs of the hydrothermally altered rocks and representative thin and polish sections provided for collected samples from 14 stations are presented in Figures 10 to 12. Station 1 and 2 are located within andesite and andesitic basalt rocks with alterations composed of chlorite, epidote and quartz as main constituents with accessory minerals such as malachite and azurite (Figure 10(a, b)). These minerals are indicators of a propylitic alteration zone (Figure 10(c)), which developed around andesitic rocks. Epidote with a simple mineralisation, including chalcopyrite, pyrite, and a small amount of covellite is the most abundant alteration mineral in this part (Figure 10(d)). Petrographic and mineralogical studies at station 3 show that mineralisation occurs in the argillic alteration zone within andesitic basalt and tuff breccia (Figure 10(e)). The most important primary minerals at this station are native copper, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, bornite and covellite (Figure 10(f)), furthermore the secondary minerals such as azurite and malachite can be found.
A geometallurgical study of flotation performance in supergene and hypogene zones of Sungun copper deposit
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy, 2021
Ataallah Bahrami, Yosef Ghorbani, Jafar Abdollahi Sharif, Fatemeh Kazemi, Morteza Abdollahi, Abbas Salahshur, Abolfazl Danesh
Minerals such as goethite, hematite, limonite, jarosite, malachite and azurite are present in the oxidised and leached zone. In supergene and hypogene zones, sulfide minerals include pyrite, molybdenite, galena, sphalerite, marcasite, pyrrhotite, and copper sulfides (chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, and covellite) with different paragenesis (Alavi et al. 2014). Kaolinite is present in both supergene and hypogene zones, and also native copper and cuprite are also observed between leached and supergene zones. Chemical factors such as pH and Eh and the mineralogy of the host rock are the most important determinants in the emergence of supergene and hypogene minerals. Parameters such as the low percentage of chalcopyrite in hypogene in weathered parts, cold climate of the area and the presence of faults and fracture zones and very deep valleys made the Supergene Sulfide zone in Sungun not be thick and rich, and both zones contain copper oxidised minerals (Kalagari 1999).