Chalcophile element
A chalcophile element prefers to combine with sulfur, such as copper, zinc, selenium and lead.
Chalcophile means 'copper-loving'. In Goldschmidt's scheme, chalcophile elements tend to combine with sulfur and gather in sulfide minerals rather than in metal or silicate. They include copper, zinc, selenium, cadmium, silver, lead and, under some conditions, iron itself.
In meteorites, chalcophile elements are concentrated in sulfides such as troilite. In the highly reduced enstatite chondrites and aubrites, conditions were so short of oxygen that even elements normally regarded as lithophile, such as calcium, magnesium, manganese and chromium, behaved like chalcophiles and formed unusual sulfides including oldhamite and niningerite.
These categories are not fixed rules but tendencies that shift with temperature, pressure and oxygen levels. Studying where an element ended up therefore reveals the conditions in which a meteorite formed. Many chalcophile elements are also volatile, so they are useful for tracing heating and evaporation.
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Level: Expert Advanced