Cornetite

specimen number:
2354278

location:
L'Etoile du Congo Mine, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, DR Congo

description:
Classic for the species and locality, bright lustrous flat lying brilliant blue crystal groupings of cornetite to 0.3 cm in size scattered across one side of matrix. In good condition.

The L'Etoile du Congo Mine, located near Lubumbashi in the Haut-Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a famous open-pit copper mine situated within the Katanga Copperbelt. Geologically, it features deeply oxidized, stratabound copper-cobalt deposits formed within Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks, where intense weathering of primary sulfides created rich secondary mineral zones. Discovered in the early 20th century, the site was one of the earliest industrial copper mines in the region and played a key historical role in the development of the Katangan mining sector. L'Etoile du Congo is world-renowned among mineral collectors as the type locality for cornetite, a rare secondary copper phosphate mineral. Specimen mining and artisanal collecting at the site have produced the finest known cornetite specimens, prized for their intense royal-blue to deep teal color and brilliant, radiating clusters of micro-crystals set against pale matrix rocks.

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