Bornite sits at 3 on the Mohs scale —
can be scratched by a steel knife.
Colors:
Streak Greenish-black
Crystal system Orthorhombic (low-T) / Cubic (high-T)
Type localityMt. Cornwall, England (and Bohemian mining districts)
Sulfides & SulfosaltsSulfides
TL;DR · 1 min read
Bornite (Cu₅FeS₄) is one of the most vivid copper sulfides and a major copper ore. Fresh surfaces show a bronze-pink metallic color, but the mineral rapidly tarnishes to vivid iridescent purple, blue, and gold — the famous "peacock ore" effect treasured by collectors.
Bornite (Cu₅FeS₄) is one of the most vivid copper sulfides and a major copper ore. Fresh surfaces show a bronze-pink metallic color, but the mineral rapidly tarnishes to vivid iridescent purple, blue, and gold — the famous “peacock ore” effect treasured by collectors. It is closely associated with chalcopyrite in porphyry copper deposits and frequently forms exsolution intergrowths with it.
Notable Chinese Localities
Dexing Copper Mine (Jiangxi) and Daye District (Hubei) produce bornite as porphyry-copper byproducts. Tongling (Anhui) hosts smaller but high-iridescence specimens.
Cite this entry
APA
MyMineralBox Editorial Team. (2026). Bornite. My Mineral Box. Retrieved May 23, 2026, from https://mymineralbox.com/mineral-encyclopedia/minerals/bornite/
MLA
MyMineralBox Editorial Team. "Bornite." My Mineral Box, 2026, https://mymineralbox.com/mineral-encyclopedia/minerals/bornite/. Accessed May 23, 2026.
Chicago
MyMineralBox Editorial Team. "Bornite." My Mineral Box. Last modified May 4, 2026. https://mymineralbox.com/mineral-encyclopedia/minerals/bornite/.
BibTeX
@misc{mmb_bornite,
author = {{MyMineralBox Editorial Team}},
title = {{Bornite}},
year = {2026},
publisher = {My Mineral Box},
url = {https://mymineralbox.com/mineral-encyclopedia/minerals/bornite/},
urldate = {2026-05-23}
}
