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Mineral Specimens with Cuprite
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4.2 x 2.8 x 1.5 cm. A rich and showy, two-sided specimen of gemmy and lustrous, wine-red cuprite crystals on copper from the classic Chilean locale of Inca de Oro. The protruding, ball-like cluster of cuprite crystals is 8 mm across. Cuprite of this quality has not come out of Inca de Oro in many years. Ex. John Ydren Collection.
4.4 x 3.4 x 2.3 cm. Marshite is almost never available to collectors, with most specimens either lost to the ages or already in museums. This is a very rich specimen, obviously validated, which I exchanged from the South Australian Museum last year (2008). The Museum label accompanies the piece. This piece features hundreds of sub-mm but eye-visible marshite crystals, on gangue matrix with small cuprite crystals. A very rich reference specimen for this important and very rare copper species (it is a startlingly simple copper iodide, CuI). When found, the mineral shows a pink coloration that faded naturally to colorless or beige over time (and now, is stable). Type locality.
3.5 x 2.4 x 2.3 cm. This piece features sharp, 0.5-mm, bright yellow, eye-visible miersite crystals, richly emplaced on ore matrix. This is a very rich specimen with unusual display aesthetics for this important and very rare silver/copper species (it is a startlingly simple silver and copper iodide, (Ag,Cu)I ). Note the unusual cuprite crystal, perhaps altering to copper, present in the middle of the specimen. A very fine reference specimen, obviously validated, which I exchanged from the South Australian Museum last year (2008). The Museum label accompanies the piece.
10.9 x 6.9 x 6.7 cm. This is a superb, large copper specimen from Russia. The cluster is very complexly crystallized, with a rich coppery patina that is bright but not "cleaned" or chemically treated. It is a floater, with no attachment points. It is 3-dimensional. Perched atop the apex of the specimen, on sharp copper crystals, are a number of 2-3mm cuprite crystals of deep red color. Really quite unprecedented for a Russian find.
4.0 x 1.9 x 1.4 cm. This miniature specimen displays an elegant stack of copper crystals one atop the other, showing several habits. The crystals are to 1 cm, and have a natural , shimmering patina that is very distinct for this find. Sharp red cuprite to 5mm decorates one side of the specimen, providing a novel accent.
3.5 x 2.6 x 1.4 cm. This is a floater cluster with no point of attachment, and it looks superb from both sides. Both sides show the cuprite association, perched on the slightly shimmering copper with its unique patina characteristic of this find.
7.2 x 3.8 x 2.5 cm. This specimen has robust, fat crystals with brilliant and metallic color, sharp elongated forms of several crystallographic habits, and a minor association with the cuprite which I think this find will become known for. It is much more intricate and 3-dimensional in person.
6.9 x 2.7 x 1.8 cm. This is piece has the brightest lustre, truly metallic and gorgeous, with a contrasting red cuprite octahedron capping the termination of this arborescent copper cluster. The coppers here are sharp, some showing a distorted form that is almost, but not quite, cubic. I think the overall look of the crystal habits and the cuprite atop combine to make this a particularly important Russian copper specimen from these new finds.
3.2 x 2.1 x 1.9 cm. This large thumbnail is mostly an amazingly complex sharp copper crystal that is about an inch from tip to tip and complete all around. On the apex are several contrasting (in both color and visual form, of course), sharp, reddish cuprite crystals The cuprite has a high lustre and so does the copper - a unique, shimmering patina that seems unique to this find. Overall, this is a dramatic, sculptural, 360-degree-around copper specimen with sharp crystals and the unique shimmering patina this mine will, I think, be famous for someday. All crystals are sharp - and the piece is very intricate in person. The piece is a floater, with no attachments to mar its symmetry all around. The crystals are sharp, more evident perhaps in person than can be conveyed with photos. Really quite unprecedented for a Russian find.
6.8 x 4.5 x 3.3 cm. This superb Cuprite specimen features dozens upon dozens of sharp, rather lustrous, gemmy, rich blood red color octahedrons (some have dodecahedral and cubic modifications), intermixed with a gossan matrix. A great touch to this specimen is the fact that there are a few associated yellow prismatic Mimetite crystals. Most of the Cuprite crystals are pristine. Ex. Rob Smith Collection.
7.5 x 6.7 x 3.8 cm. This is a very nice representative Cuprite specimen from Tsumeb. It is comprised of hundreds of small octahedra and/or modified octahedra with sharp faces and a rich blood red color when backlit. Virtually all of the crystals are pristine with a great coverage on matrix. Ex. Rob Smith Collection.
4.9 x 3.4 x 2.9 cm. This fine specimen features a very sharp, 0.5-cm crystal of cuprite from the premier locality in Congo. The deep red, razor-sharp crystal is surrounded by a field of chunky little deep green malachites surrounded by light green chrysocolla - a panoply of copper minerals in one specimen.
6.0 x 3.8 x 2.4 cm. An excellent and showy malachite with cuprite specimen from the famous Mashamba West Mine of Shaba Province, Zaire. Seven, sharp, lustrous, dark wine-red cuprite crystals to 6 mm are aesthetically scattered on a sculptural crust of blocky, primary malachite blades. The association is uncommon. Primary malachite of this quality is more significant, though, and also is not that common from Zaire or anywhere.
13.0 x 6.5 x 5.2 cm. An old-time, important cabinet combination specimen from the upper levels of the Tsumeb Mine. Sharp, gemmy and lustrous, wine-red cuprite crystals to 8 mm and gemmy and lustrous, golden-yellow mimetite crystals to 8 mm are clustered or scattered on the 3-dimensional, foot or sandal-shaped matrix. The gemmy cuprite crystals glow when backlit. The rich copper ore matrix is covered with sparkly, drusy, dolomite microcrystals. The concentration of mimetite and cuprite crystals in or near the vug is striking. Ex. Rob Smith Collection.
1.2 x 0.9 x 0.9 cm. A superb and sharp pseudomorph from the mines at Chessy, France. This is a pristine, floater pseudomorph of malachite after cuprite with textbook crystal form. The ancient Chessy mines were closed by the end of the 19th century and this is a fine example of a classic form and species. Ex. Harvard and Dick Jones Collections.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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