Cuprite

Item Description

Funny enough, the typical copper minerals of a normal copper mine such as cuprite and copper itself, are very very rare in the deposits at Tsumeb, as most of the copper seems to have been used and transformed long ago to make more exotic species here. Lustrous, rich red crystals of Cuprite are distributed all over the display face of this small cabinet-sized piece from Tsumeb. A plethora of equant, well-formed, interconnected Cuprite crystals from 2 to 6 mm cover the front of a piece of matrix that is mostly massive Cuprite with some inclusions of reddish host rock. The Cuprites show an intense cherry-red color when lit well or backlit. There are even some Cuprite crystals in a small vug on the rear of the piece. This is a very representative and rich small cabinet specimen of Cuprite from this renowned locality.