The Crystal Circle
Specimen: Standard Gallery: Standard
Tourmaline var. Uvite with Magnesite and Quartz
Tourmaline var. Uvite with Magnesite and Quartz
Brumado, Bahia, Northeast Region, Brazil
Acanthite
Acanthite
Imiter, Atlas Mountains, Morocco
Corundum Var. Sapphire
Corundum Var. Sapphire
Balangoda, near Ratnapura, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka
Quartz Var. Rose
Quartz Var. Rose
Lavra da Ilha Pegmatite, Taquaral, Itinga, Aracuai, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Zoisite Var. Tanzanite
Zoisite Var. Tanzanite
Merelani Mine, Lelatema Mountains, Arusha Region, Tanzania
Danburite rough and cut
Danburite rough and cut
San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Cuprite

Cuprite

sold
Locality
Rubtsovsky Mine, Altai Krai, Siberia, Russia
Minerals
Cuprite
Dimensions
3.7 x 2.7 x 2.2 cm
Size class
Miniature
SID
CUPRITE1

The cuprites from the Rubtsovskiy Mine in Russia are widely considered the best ever found. The Rubtsovskly Mine is an operating copper mine, and the oxidation zone has produced Cuprites, Azurites, native copper, silver, and iodine minerals like Miersite. I have been following the production for the last two years, 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. 

This piece is a super-lustrous cluster of small to medium sized (1.2 cm per edge) octohedral Cuprites. It's in great condition with only slight micro-scuffing to some edges (as seen in pics) It weighs 41 grams. 

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