TUC14B-1338
Copper
Boddington Au Mine, Boddington, Western Australia, Australia
Small Cabinet, 6.1 x 4.0 x 4.0 cm
SOLD
This is a fascinating specimen with beautiful sharp crystals all around, and a nice patina of reddish-copper color. Display-quality, and complete 360 degrees, this would be a great copper from any locale. It is from a mine about which I had known very little, and had to look up on Mindat.org: http://www.Mindat.org/loc-7624.html: "A 1979 survey identified an anomaly in the Saddleback Greenstone Belt. A large open cut operation commenced in 1987, and ceased in 2001, after the known oxide ore resource had been processed. The mine was jointly owned by Normandy Mining, Acacia Resources, and Newcrest Mining. At the time it was the largest gold operation in Australia. After an extended period the mine was acquired by Newmont Mining, who identified a gold bedrock resource to the north of the original pit. Two pits were opened in 2010, and again forms Australia's largest gold mine (2012). It has estimated reserves of 20 million ounces of gold, and copper production of 30 000 tons per year. The estimated life of the mine is twenty years... A small number of high quality, non gold specimens were recovered during the early days of exploration by enlightened geologist Roger Staley. These were donated to the Brisbane Mineral Museum, who off-loaded some spare specimens onto the collectors market. Copper specimens are usually free of matrix and cleaned of patina. The southern pit the specimens came from is now back-filled with the overlying bauxite ore, and rehabilitated." Joe Budd photos.