Cuprite

specimen number:
9711764

location:
Kolwezi, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo

description:
Lustrous deep red octahedral crystals of cuprite measuring to 0.7 cm in size on a calcite matrix. In good condition. Minor chrysocolla is present.

Kolwezi, located in the Lualaba province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has a mining history rooted in indigenous working before formal industrialization began around 1901, followed by the founding of the Union Miniere du Haut Katanga in 1906 (with major operations like the Kamoto mine opening in 1942); it has never officially closed and remains active today. Geologically, the area sits within the rich Central African Copperbelt inside the Kolwezi Klippe, a complex tectonic thrust sheet composed primarily of folded and faulted Neoproterozoic Roan Group sedimentary rocks containing massive world-class deposits of supergene-enriched copper and cobalt ores.

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