#Bornite

[geologyin-blog]

Natural Peacock iridescent Bornite, pyrite, and Calcite Mineral

Photo: zundicrystal

[rejamart]

design + art commission for penbur of a creature ascended

hello. i'm a broke artist looking down the barrel of homelessness. if you like my work, consider tossing me a dollar or two on venmo $rejamrejam

[zeibei]

bornite is a bit unnerving

[beeapartments]

I finished taking rock photos, hooray! (..it's over with!)

I ended up saving 195 photos. I want to take some good pictures of my fluorescent rocks at some point, but I need to figure out how first. I'm glad now I took the pictures on a huge sheet of paper, because some of my rocks left a lot of dirt or shed a lot of fine crystals (looking at you stibnite)

..Not sure when I'll edit them, or how long it'll take, though. Here's a few of the unedited ones.

[especdreamy]

My Uni gifted me a magnifying glass. Decided to use it on some minerals from my collection

[torusauza]

Hory

[penebui]

new 2024 ref for my hnk oc, Chalco :3

[iamthepulta]

wait no please explain mineral processing!!!

I gasped in delight at the ask, haha. I love mineral processing.

Mineral processing is the theory of economically getting your desired element out of whatever it naturally comes in. So Li out of spodumene, or Cu out of chalcopyrite. It's usually split into hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy (liquid chemistry and melting the fuck out of it, respectively), and often taught as hard rock extraction, but you need it for Every Element, really. So you can also focus on extracting phosphates, or nitrates, or uranium! It's chemistry++~

Personally, I know the most about copper extraction and my focus is on hydrometallurgy/geometallurgy, although pyrometallurgy is near to my heart. Copper is coincidentally a really good example of how the two work because it comes as so many natural minerals. (Further explanations under the cut...)

So for copper minerals! You have a whole slew of oxides and sulfides. They occur in different part of your orebodies under different states of oxidation/sulfidation. Take Chrysocolla, Malachite, Chalcocite, and Chalcopyrite. (Cu-silicate)(an oxide), (Cu-carbonate)(an oxide), (Cu-Sulfide), and (Cu-Fe-Sulfide).

Mines usually use hydrometallurgy for oxides by sticking them in a leach heap and pouring sulfuric acid over the whole thing. The acid selectively picks up the Cu ion from silicates and carbonates, leaving the primary tetrahedra alone. The sulfides can work with this chemistry if the mineral's comfort zone is outside of the current conditions (Chalcocite does leach, but usually leaves a Cu ion in the structure as CuS) but minerals like Chalcopyrite are very poor leachers because the outer rim of ions are ripped away, leaving a somewhat-hypothetical "passive layer" of Fe/S that won't react with the acid. So if you have a mine with a lot of Chalcopyrite, you'll be leaving money on the table unless you do something.

So people use pyrometallurgy! Which is what we've been using since the Bronze Age, really. You crush the rock to micrometer grains, use the hydrophobic properties of sulfur to "float" the sulfides in water, then send all of it to the smelter and melt the shit out of it, while adding particular chemicals and minerals to enhance copper recovery while suppressing sulfides you don't want, like sphalerite and galena.

It's REALLY cool. I'm biased of course, but I absolutely love the whole cycle. xD Being in mineral processing also gets you on the backside of geopolitics because you're the only person who understands how to GET things and WHERE to get them and why it's not as simple as pulling Cu out of the ground.

Feel free to ask questions!! I love processing so much, and mining in general, even though I'm only a master's student.

((And NO STUPID QUESTIONS. The mining industry is a goddamn black box DO NOT feel bad if you don't know what stuff means or formulas, or processes. I swear I learn one new word a week. They also have fifty names for everything too because 50 names are always better than 1. 👍)

[ghcstcd]

There are two ghouls named Bismuth and Bornite who were in Secondo's pack of ghouls who stayed behind when Secondo died. Unfortunately, Dewdrop doesn't with visit them as often as she should, or wants. He swears he's not avoiding them, but there's a strange guilt she feels about her success in the band and their pack.

[cinnabunnsss]

wip

hair i think is cool

[birdwithinternet]

30, 45 and 49 for weird asks

30. is there dishes in your room?

Not anymore!

45. can you remember what happened yesterday?

A little bit? It was a pretty normal day, I think.

49. can you skip rocks?

I can for like, two skips. Nothing too impressive, I'm no rock-skipping expert. My uncle is, though.

Thanks for the asks! <3

[tranquilocs]

Kishiko: Nespina has no idea I’m high.

Nespina: You’re high?

Kishiko: Oh, I’m sorry.

Kishiko, leaning over to Nia: Nespina has no idea I’m high.

[zeibei]

Big Sister is Watching You.

[everythingisliminal]

Y'all know what? Life is

luscious and raw - I refuse

to forget this time.

[torusauza]

Bornite

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

Monday Musings: Where does copper come from?

First, native copper (pure copper) is incredibly rare so when you hear about copper mines, it is not native copper that is being referred to. Instead, copper ore is mined.

What is an ore you ask? An ore is a naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable mineral can be profitably extracted.

For copper, the most important ore rocks are chalcopyrite,

Bornite,

and malachite.

Over 50% of the world's copper comes from the first two ores. How are these ores produced in the first place?

Chalcopyrite forms in several different ways. One way is through volcanic-associated hydrothermal events in submarine environments. In modern terms, we call these black smokers. There's a lot more I could say on this but I don't want to turn this into a mile long post.

Another source is sedimentary exhalative deposits. These also occur in the ocean when salt water leaches metals out of clastic sedimentary rocks.

Yet another source is Kambalda type komatiitic nickel ore deposits where is forms from an immiscible sulfide liquid in sulfide-saturated ultramafic rocks. In this case chalcopyrite is more of an accessory mineral.

Bornite, also known as peacock ore because it's flippin gorgeous,

Like chalcopyrite, it can form through hydrothermal precipitation. It can also occur with pegmatites (igneous rocks with very large crystals),

contact metamorphism,

and cupriferous shales (copper-rich).

The largest source of copper ore is Chile with the U.S. coming in second. The largest copper mine in the States is Bingham Canyon Mine better known as the Kennecott Mine. I actually work fairly close to this mine.

Another, former, copper mine I am fairly familiar with is the Berkeley Pit in Butte, MT. This mine is a nasty mess and has killed a large number of snow geese due to its high acidity. Currently, there is a type of protozoan that has adapted to the harsh conditions of the pit. This is a lesson in cleaning up mining operations properly when they are completed.

So, in conclusion, copper ores are associated with volcanism to one extent or another. So, if you want to find copper minerals or like start your own copper mine, make sure you look for sulfide deposits near volcanic rocks.

Tune in tomorrow for some more copper trivia! Fossilize you later!