The Crystal Circle
Specimen: Standard Gallery: Standard
Olmiite on Calcite
Olmiite on Calcite
N Chwanning II Mine, Kuruman, Republic of South Africa
Celestite
Celestite
Rockwood, Michigan
Heulandite with Stilbite
Heulandite with Stilbite
Jalgon, Maharashtra State, India
Corundum Var. Sapphire
Corundum Var. Sapphire
Balangoda, near Ratnapura, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka
Spinel (rough and cut)
Spinel (rough and cut)
Mogok, Sagaing District, Mandalay Division, Burma (Myanmar)
Linarite
Linarite
Sunshine #1 Mine, Bingham, NM
Copper pseudomorphs after cuprite w/ Silver

Copper pseudomorphs after cuprite w/ Silver

sold
Locality
Rubtsovsky Mine, Altai Krai, Siberia, Russia
Minerals
Copper, Cuprite, Silver
Dimensions
3.8 x 3.5 x 2.2 cm
Size class
Miniature
SID
COPPER11

The cuprites from the Rubtsovsky Mine in Russia are widely considered the best ever found. The Rubtsovsky Mine is an operating copper mine, and the oxidation zone has produced Cuprites, Azurites, native copper, silver, and iodine minerals like Miersite, and Marshite. I have been following the production for many years, and they are totally done producing cuprites, pseudos, etc. To better understand how these are unique and what pieces stand out from "the crowd." About 95+% of the production have damage of some kind to a corner or edge. This is largely due to the miners who when extracting crystals from the kaolin clay zone (which protects the Cuprites), they drop them into their pockets, and they get dinged. 

The copper pseudomorphs from here are quite rare (occuring less than 1% of the time vs. whole cuprites). This piece consists of about 19 distinct crystals, with one or two still showing the original cuprites. There's a small area with spongy silver. I stashed this piece years ago, good ones like this are scarce on the market.   

 

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