Copper

specimen number:
8911174

location:
Itauz Mine, Zilandy, Satpayev, Ulytau, Kazakhstan

description:
Very fine loose twinned crystal grouping of native copper. Elongated and very sharp, in excellent condition. Classic for the species and locality. The specimen comes with a previous label from the Alton collection.

Located within the Zhilandy ore field near Satpayev in the Ulytau Region of Kazakhstan, the Itauz Mine operates as a major open-pit commercial operation targeting stratiform sediment-hosted copper deposits embedded in Paleozoic sandstones and shales. The localized geology features hydrothermal fluids that invaded fractured sedimentary hosts, precipitating rich sulfide minerals alongside secondary metallic enrichments in oxidized upper zones. Mining in the broader Zhezkazgan basin expanded rapidly following mid-twentieth-century geological surveys led by Kanysh Satpayev, but Itauz achieved world-renowned status among mineral collectors in the mid-2000s after open-pit excavation hit extraordinary pockets of native copper. These specimen finds yielded exceptional sharp spinel-twin copper crystals, complex arborescent branching groups, and dense metallic aggregates that quickly established Itauz as one of the premier modern world localities for fine native copper specimens.

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