Talnakhite

Description

Talnakhite has a hardness of 4½ and a specific gravity of 4.29. Shockingly, it’s named after its discovery locality, the Talnakh Cu-Ni deposits, near Noril’sk, Russia. It was only just discovered in 1963 by I. Budko and E. Kulagov and officially named in 1968.

Wikipedia states that Talnakhite is in the Chalcopyrite group and that it decomposes to tetragonal cubanite plus bornite, and Mindat includes that it’s “yellow – similar to chalcopyrite. Tarnishes brown, purple, or pink.”

So far, it’s been found in around 47 localities worldwide and 8 in the US, with the nearest to Colorado being Salt Lake City. It’s not clear exactly in which type of geologic setting it can be found, but there’s photos of Talnakhite associated with Galena, Sperrylite, Chalcopyrite, Shadlunite, Silver, Magnetite, Mooihoekite, Pentlandite, Cubanite, and Moncheite on Mindat.

WebMineral has an analyzed report showing roughly 37% Copper, 33% Sulfur, 22% Iron, and 7% Nickel, and this specimen would make for a great representation of those elements as they’re found in nature for element collectors!

Copper just hit $5/lb, so be sure to keep your eyes out for a cool rock like this and you might just become a millionaire with a new Copper mine!