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Mineral Specimens with Cuprite
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9.3 x 5.2 x 4.3 cm. An arborescent, sculptural, latticework and box-work of rust-red, cuprite-coated, flattened and spinel-twinned copper crystals with a bit of attached matrix from the famous Ray Mine of Arizona. Ex. Stoudt Collection.
7.7 x 5.5 x 3.4 cm. Lustrous, sharp, deep blood-red cuprite crystals are partially coated with beaverite on this fine piece from the Tsumeb Mine. This is a solid nodule of cuprite crystals, with no attachment points and is uncommon from this world-famous locality. Ex. Rob Smith Collection.
A stunning specimen of Christamas-colors, with brilliant red cuprite of unusual quality for Tsumeb perched on green-colored calcite matrix. This was , to me, the premier cuprite specimen in the collection and it really leaps out, as it is incredibly sparkly in person and the many facets reflect light every which way. Evan Jones collection, purchased from Kristalle and previously in the Jim Thompson collection 5.5 x 4 x 2 cm
A somewhat unique specimen, with brilliant flaming-red chalcotrichite including small quartz crystals! 4.5 x 4 x 3.5 cm
5.0 x 2.6 x 2.2 cm. Two gemmy, sharp, highly lustrous, blood-red cuprite crystals to 1.0 cm set on a wing-like sliver of massive cuprite and nicely accented by chatoyant malachite and calcite from the Tsumeb Mine. Ex. Rob Smith Collection.
10.8 x 7.2 x 5.2 cm. An old-time, extremely rich and showy cabinet copper ore specimen of essentially solid cuprite. The cuprite is widely distributed as gemmy and lustrous, dark blood-red crystals, either as discrete crystals or in intergrown masses. The rest of the specimen is massive cuprite covered with microcrystalline cuprite. Hefty for its size at 491 grams or over 1 pound 1 ounce. Ex. Rob Smith Collection.
A cluster of LARGE (to 1.5 cm on edge), sharp and lustrous cuprite crystals, on a layer of massive cuprite, which itself sits on a light green copper-based matrix that nicely contrasts with and accentuates the red of the cuprites. When well-lit with a very strong light close up, they practically glow with internal cherry red color . Some edge damage at the periphery of the cluster but by and large a darned good piece especially if one considers little recent specimen production has come out of the area in light of all the civil strife and infrastructure collapse. This is a showy, large piece with crysatls of excellent quality. 7 x 6.5 x 3.5 cm
5.5 x 4.7 x 3.2 cm. A classic, old-time combination specimen of lustrous, wine-red cuprite microcrystals richly covering a solid box-work matrix of elongated, spinel-twinned copper crystals to massive copper from the historic Gwennap-St. Day area of Cornwall. Both species are rare from this locale. Ex. Durkos Collection.
3.3 x 2.9 x 1.9 cm. A classic, sharp and pristine, 2.8 cm, malachite-coated cuprite crystal from the famous 1973 find at the Ogonja Mine of Namibia. The crystal is artfully attached to a shard of matrix covered with contrasting smithsonite rhombs. Ex. Rob Smith Collection.
A superb specimen with impeccable geometry to these remarkably 3-dimensional crytals. The largest crystal reaches 4 cm in size and shows nearly every possible face. I have seen a LOT of these over the years and usually to get crystals this perfectly formed or displayed, you are reduced to getting small crystals on a big matrix whereas this is the reverse, the ideal of big crystals on a pedestal of matrix! For its size, this is certainly one of the very best examples of this classic association, and it comes from a fine collection as well (I obtained it only recently, as part of his oxide and sulfide suite). 7.5 x 7.5 x 5 cm
6.0 x 4.5 x 1.2 cm. Santa Rita is a today a ghost town. In its day, it was a great copper locality, having been mined all the way back to 1803 - its original name was Santa Rita del Cobre (Santa Rita of the Copper). So, there is no telling from which period this specimen came. It is a branching, dendritic crystallized specimen with small crystals of deep red cuprite richly ranged along its branches. Ex. Dave Stoudt Collection.
5.9 x 5.7 x 4.2 cm. This is a large, complete, deep red cuprite crystal of exceptional size, from old finds at this remote mine in the 1970s. This large crystal (286 grams) is entirely translucent to transparent. Ex. Dr. Edward David and Jean Behier Collections.
10.8 x 9.7 x 8.6 cm. A sculptural, two-sided cabinet specimen of a showy, well-placed and rich bed of sharp copper crystals with a nice patina associated with copper pseudomorphs after cuprite crystals and matrix. The dendritic, copper appendages are fascinating. This excellent piece is from the less well-known Dallas Shaft at Bisbee. Ex. Dave Stoudt Collection.
8.0 x 4.6 x 2.5 cm. An old-time, classic and showy combination specimen of hackly copper with a nice patina on very rich coverage of lustrous, sharp, wine-red cuprite crystals on a plate of quartz-rich matrix. This fine piece is from the historic and very interestingly named Ting Tang Mine of Cornwall. The Ting Tang Mine was an active mine from 1816-1865. Ex. John Ydren Collection.
This piece is so remarkable in my experience, I couldn't believe it at first...but here it is, just back from a trip to the cleaners. This specimen features razor-sharp, metallic octohedral crystals of cuprite to just over 1 cm in size, forming a knoll atop native copper. When I got it from Linck's collection, the piece was so dark it looked black, and lacked lustre, plus the copper was not visible and I had no idea it was underneath! Physical cleaning revealed a very nice metallic lustre and the dark red color underneath 100 years of accumulated dirt, though I doubt it was ever professionally cleaned since the day it was mined and certainly never looked this good (especially now that it is trimmed a bit, and sits on its own!). NOTE THAT this piece was not chemically cleaned as some cuprites are these days! The red color shown is natural (dark red in the upper photos taken with a white-light bulb; and a brighter red with internal glints under a strong and close halogen light source). The piece is crystallized almost all around, though admittedly with some damage around the backside and contacted massive cuprite lower on the piece where I removed some rather clunky and broken parts of the matrix that really detracted. It is even minutely crystallized on the bottom; perhaps indicating that the whole specimen broke off and fell into the pocket, where further crystallization occurred over the break point? Given the hefty weight of the piece, this wouldn't surprise me if my guess were true. The native copper is visible as copper sheets underneath the specimen and around the lower periphery, admixed with massive cuprite. The specimen was in the notable collection of Albert Petereit, who apparently started selling his specimens in 1909. Quite a few of the best American classics in the Gage collection, including this one and the Pulsifer piece above, came from Petereit, who was well known on the East Coast as a connoisseur of American minerals. 6.5 x 5 x 5 cm
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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share specimen![Cuprite, Copper from Ray Mine, Scott Mountain area, Mineral Creek District (Ray District), Dripping Spring Mts, Pinal Co., Arizona, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-183980a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-183980a.jpg)
![Cuprite, Beaverite from Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-186529a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-186529a.jpg)
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![Cuprite (Var: Chalcotrichite) from Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-18711a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-18711a.jpg)
![Cuprite, Malachite, Calcite from Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-187663a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-187663a.jpg)
![Cuprite, Malachite, Calcite from Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-187663b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-187663b.jpg)
![Cuprite from Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-190285a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-190285a.jpg)
![Cuprite from Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-190285b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-190285b.jpg)
![Cuprite from Dikuluwe Mine, Kolwezi, Western area, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre) [db_pics/mdpics/MD-19830a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-19830a.jpg)
![Cuprite, Copper from Poldory Mine, United Mines (Gwennap United Mines), Clifford Amalgamated Mines, Gwennap area, Camborne - Redruth - St Day District, Cornwall, England, UK [db_pics/mdpics/MD-200680a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-200680a.jpg)
![Malachite, Cuprite, Smithsonite from Ogonja Mine (Onganja Mine), Ogonja (Onganja), Seeis, Windhoek District, Khomas Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-205921a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-205921a.jpg)
![Malachite, Cuprite from Emke Mine, Ogonja (Onganja), Seeis, Windhoek District, Khomas Region, Namibia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-20701a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-20701a.jpg)
![Copper, Cuprite from Chino Mine (Santa Rita Pit; Santa Rita Mine), Santa Rita, Santa Rita District, Grant Co., New Mexico, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-208782a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-208782a.jpg)
![Cuprite from Mashamba West Mine, Kolwezi, Western area, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre) [db_pics/mdpics/MD-209737a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-209737a.jpg)
![Cuprite from Mashamba West Mine, Kolwezi, Western area, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre) [db_pics/mdpics/MD-209737b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-209737b.jpg)
![Copper, Cuprite from Dallas Mine (Dallas shaft), Warren District, Mule Mts, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-209872a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-209872a.jpg)
![Cuprite, Copper from Ting Tang Mine, West Clifford United Mines, Carharrack, Gwennap area, Camborne - Redruth - St Day District, Cornwall, England, UK [db_pics/mdpics/MD-213114a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-213114a.jpg)
![Cuprite, Copper from Ting Tang Mine, West Clifford United Mines, Carharrack, Gwennap area, Camborne - Redruth - St Day District, Cornwall, England, UK [db_pics/mdpics/MD-213114b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-213114b.jpg)
![Cuprite, Copper from Bisbee, Warren District, Mule Mts, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-21365a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-21365a.jpg)