The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Chalcophile Element

any one of various chemical elements of sulfide ores according to the classification of the Norwegian geochemist V. M. Goldschmidt. Chalcophile elements constitute side groups in the periodic system of elements and include 19 elements: S, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Ln, Sn, Sb, Te, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, Bi, and Po. Their metals have a specific affinity for S, Se, and Te.

Chalcophile elements make up 0.046 percent of the mass of the earth’s crust; however, because of their ability to accumulate under certain conditions, they form ore deposits, primarily hydro-thermal vein deposits. Sulfides of copper, lead, zinc, and silver in sedimentary rocks form stratiform (blanket) deposits.

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References in periodicals archive

(1992): Chalcophile element and iridium in continental Cretaceous--Tertiary boundary Clays from the western interior of the U.

Composicion de la materia organica de sedimentos intertrapeanos ricos en iridio de Anjar: volcanismo en el Deccan e implicaciones paleoambientales durante el limite Cretatico / Terciario

Highly Siderophile and Strongly Chalcophile Elements in High-Temperature Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry

Mineralogists and geochemists explore highly siderophile elements, which strongly prefer metal, and chalcophile elements, which strongly prefer sulfide, relative to silicate or oxide phases, at very high temperatures.

Highly Siderophile and Strongly Chalcophile Elements in High-Temperature Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry

Samples from near the lower and upper contacts of the bentonite bed show also a significant rise in the content of chalcophile elements such as As and Pb, simultaneously with peak S and Fe concentrations.

Internal stratification of two thick ordovician bentonites of estonia: deciphering primary magmatic, sedimentary, environmental and diagenetic signatures/Kahe paksu Ordoviitsiumi bentoniidi sisemine stratifikatsioon: magmaliste, setteliste, keskkonna ja diageneetiliste tunnuste desifreerimine

Some siderophile and chalcophile elements such as Au and the Platinum Group elements (PGE's) are more strongly partitioned into immiscible sulfide liquid than Ni.

Igneous rock associations 4. Oceanic island volcanism I mineralogy and petrology

Characterized by a high content of U, Mo, V and some chalcophile elements, the complex is a potential resource of a variety of metals (Hade & Soesoo 2014).

Centimetre-scale variability of redox-sensitive elements in Tremadocian black shales from the eastern Baltic Palaeobasin