30000 tonnes of a copper ore containing 6.5% chalcopyrite was mined. Calculate the theoretical yield of copper that could be extracted from this ore (in tonnes)?

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Answer 1 · 2017-04-21T07:47:31

#"Chalcopyrite"# has a formula of #"CuFeS"_2# (you should have included this formula in the question).

And thus percentage mass of copper in chalcopyrite is:

#(63.55*g*mol^-1)/((63.55+55.8+2xx32.06)*g*mol^-1)xx100%#

#34.6%# #"by mass."#

But, the ore contains ONLY #6.5%# by mass of copper in this ore......

And thus, the mass of copper is given by............

#(6.5)/100xx(34.6)/100xx30000*"tonnes"=675*"tonnes"#.

And of course the rest of the starting mass will either be released to the atmosphere, or end up in a mountainous pile of tailings.