Bornite with Quartz

specimen number:
2063568

location:
Dzhezkazgan, Karaganda, Kazakhstan

description:
Quite choice for the species, a non-lustrous crude grouping of bornite crystals measuring to 1.4 x 1.2 x 0.5 cm in size on a matrix covered by glistening colorless crystals of quartz to 0.6 cm in length. In excellent condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark and dates to the late 1990s.

Dzhezkazgan, located in central Kazakhstan, is famous as one of the world's largest sediment hosted copper ore districts. Geologically, the region features extensive upper Paleozoic red bed sequences within the Chu-Sarysu basin, where metal rich fluids migrated through permeable sandstones and shales to precipitate massive concentrations of copper, lead, and silver. The history of mining in this arid steppe spans thousands of years, beginning with ancient Bronze Age workings where early miners extracted over a million tons of rich oxidized ores. Modern industrial development took off in the twentieth century following extensive geological surveys led by Soviet scientists, transforming the remote site into a premier global center for copper production and a significant hub for mineral collecting.

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