Abstract Ordinary chondrites originate from S-type asteroids. These meteorites can be used for laboratory studies that further our understanding of the geological conditions on asteroids, including assessment of their resource potential. Asteroids have since long been considered to host significant resources of siderophilic elements such as Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, that could be exploited in situ. However bulk rock mining would be largely impractical. In this paper, we report on abundance and mineral occurrences of copper in H chondrites, identify Cu carrier minerals and interpret their distribution in the context of processes that must have affected parent bodies. This leads us to suggestion that some parts of S-type asteroids contain Cu in a form and amount that would satisfy requirements of potentially economically and environmentally more efficient exploitation. Parent bodies of chondrites contain 70–100 ​ppm of Cu in bulk and this is mainly contained in Fe,Ni-alloy. However, parts of asteroids that were affected by shock processes and post-shock thermal annealing may host Cu that exsolved from primary alloy and forms native, pure-Cu grains. Up to 50 ​ppm of Cu may be present in such phase in these parts of asteroids. Grains of native copper can be extracted from the host rock via mechanical mineral processing methods, releasing need of extensive chemical leaching. This makes potential exploitation more targeted and less destructive for the local environment. A characteristic feature associated with enrichment in native Cu in chondrites is presence of shock-darkened zones. Therefore, we suggest that shock-darkened asteroids are potentially best sites for Cu exploitation.

中文翻译：

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普通球粒陨石中的铜：小行星资源潜力的代表和最小侵入性和经济有效开发的限制

摘要 普通球粒陨石起源于S型小行星。这些陨石可用于实验室研究，进一步了解小行星的地质条件，包括评估其资源潜力。长期以来，小行星一直被认为拥有大量可就地开发的铁、镍、钴、铜等亲铁元素资源。然而，大块岩石开采在很大程度上是不切实际的。在本文中，我们报告了 H 球粒陨石中铜的丰度和矿物分布，确定了铜载体矿物并在一定影响母体的过程中解释了它们的分布。这使我们建议 S 型小行星的某些部分含有铜，其形式和数量将满足潜在的经济和环境更有效开发的要求。球粒陨石母体中含有 70-100 ppm 的 Cu，主要存在于 Fe、Ni 合金中。然而，受冲击过程和冲击后热退火影响的部分小行星可能含有从原始合金中析出并形成天然纯铜晶粒的铜。在小行星的这些部分中，这种相中可能存在高达 50 ppm 的铜。天然铜颗粒可以通过机械选矿方法从母岩中提取，无需大量的化学浸出。这使得潜在的开发更有针对性，对当地环境的破坏性更小。与球粒陨石中原生铜的富集相关的一个特征是存在冲击暗区。因此，我们认为冲击变暗的小行星可能是开采铜的最佳地点。