Your metal footprint
Sample: Chalcopyrite in quartz vein with minor pale green sericite.
Locality: Mount Lyell, Tasmania
Primary Commodity: Copper (Cu)
Have you ever thought about how you are the catalyst for mining? Everything, from the car that you drive to the mobile phone that you use, powers mining forward. This is the message that ores researcher Dr Robin Armstrong delivers at the Museum’s annual Science Uncovered event.
The collection in action
Dr Armstrong uses the photographed sample above from the ore collection to introduce what the most important copper ore mineral – chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) – looks like. Those that attend Dr Armstrong’s presentation are often surprised to hear just how vital copper is in our everyday lives. Copper is used in the construction, manufacturing and transport industries and is found in our houses, laptops and cars – to name just a few.
Science Uncovered
Held annually, Science Uncovered is a one-night, Europe-wide festival of science, which encourages people to visit the Museum and meet more than 350 scientists face-to-face. The ores research team and ore collection curator are here each year to discuss how mining impacts upon society and how ores play a vital role in your everyday life. So if you’re free on the last Friday of September 2015, why not come along? It’s an ore-some night out.
Visit window two to view another sample from the ore collection that has been used for public outreach – this sample has been to parliament!
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Locality: Mount Lyell, Tasmania
Primary Commodity: Copper (Cu)
Have you ever thought about how you are the catalyst for mining? Everything, from the car that you drive to the mobile phone that you use, powers mining forward. This is the message that ores researcher Dr Robin Armstrong delivers at the Museum’s annual Science Uncovered event.
The collection in action
Dr Armstrong uses the photographed sample above from the ore collection to introduce what the most important copper ore mineral – chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) – looks like. Those that attend Dr Armstrong’s presentation are often surprised to hear just how vital copper is in our everyday lives. Copper is used in the construction, manufacturing and transport industries and is found in our houses, laptops and cars – to name just a few.
Science Uncovered
Held annually, Science Uncovered is a one-night, Europe-wide festival of science, which encourages people to visit the Museum and meet more than 350 scientists face-to-face. The ores research team and ore collection curator are here each year to discuss how mining impacts upon society and how ores play a vital role in your everyday life. So if you’re free on the last Friday of September 2015, why not come along? It’s an ore-some night out.
Visit window two to view another sample from the ore collection that has been used for public outreach – this sample has been to parliament!
< Back to calendar