Chalcopyrite is a sulfide mineral of copper and iron; it is the most common ore mineral of copper. Chalcopyrite has a chemical composition of CuFeS2 and is brassy to golden yellow in colour with an iridescent tarnish. It also yields gold and silver as a by product.

Pyrometallurgical extraction

This is a process of copper extraction from the chalcopyrite ore into pure metal.
Firstly the copper ore is crushed and ground before it is concentrated between 20-40% copper. The copper is converted to a concentration of 99% pure copper for electrochemical refining. This process involves high temperatures to first roast the copper concentrate, then it is smelted in a kiln, oxidised and the molten products have to be reduced to remove the sulfur, iron, silicon and oxygen to leave behind pure copper.

Froth flotation

Another process that can be used in the extraction of copper from its ore is a smelting process to gain crude copper. Within this procedure strong heating of......

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Title: Chalcopyrite
Approximate Word Count: 541
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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