Copper Sulfide

Copper Sulfide

Copper sulfides describe a family of chemical compounds and minerals with the formula Cu_xS_y. Both minerals and synthetic materials comprise these compounds. Some copper sulfides are economically important ores.

Prominent copper sulfide minerals include Cu₂S (chalcocite) and CuS (covellite). In the mining industry, the minerals bornite or chalcopyrite, which consist of mixed copper-iron sulfides, are often referred to as "copper sulfides". In chemistry, a "binary copper sulfide" is any binary chemical compound of the elements copper and sulfur. Whatever their source, copper sulfides vary widely in composition with 0.5 ≤ Cu/S ≤ 2, including numerous non-stoichiometric compounds.