Copper with Chalcanthite

specimen number:
9302420

location:
Hettstedt, Mansfeld-Sudharz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

description:
A flattened crystallized grouping of native copper, this hosting much crystalline blue chalcanthite across the top. In good condition all around.

Hettstedt, located in the Mansfeld-Sudharz district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, lies within the iconic Mansfeld Basin along the southeastern foothills of the Harz Mountains. Geologically, the region is famous for its Permian Zechstein group deposit featuring Kupferschiefer, a thin, highly metallized bed of bituminous copper-bearing shale rich in sulfide minerals. Mining in the Mansfeld district began around 1200 AD and continued for nearly eight centuries, transforming Hettstedt into an historic industrial hub renowned for copper and silver extraction. In 1785, the nearby Koenig-Friedrich-Schacht near Hettstedt hosted the installation of the first Watt-type steam engine in Germany to pump water from the deep shafts. Mining operations officially ceased in the late 20th century, leaving behind dramatic slag heaps and a rich legacy that draws specimen collectors seeking classic European copper sulfides, rare secondary minerals, and historical smelting slag phases.

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