Copper

specimen number:
1791284

location:
Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA

description:
Crystallized grouping of native copper with little matrix. The crystals have a reddish patina likely due to the presence of cuprite.

Bisbee, Arizona, founded in 1880 following early claims in the Mule Mountains, grew into one of the richest copper mining districts in the world before large-scale operations officially closed in 1975. Geologically, the area is characterized by complex Paleozoic limestone formations cut by Cretaceous-era granitic intrusions, creating massive contact metamorphic replacement and skarn orebodies. Mineralogically, the district is world-famous for its spectacular oxidized zone minerals, producing breathtaking aesthetic specimens of native copper, azurite, malachite, cuprite, and various other rare secondary copper species that have made it a legendary locality for mineral collectors globally.

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