The Crystal Circle
Specimen: Standard Gallery: Standard
Serandite with Aegirine
Serandite with Aegirine
Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
Tourmaline var. Uvite with Magnesite and Quartz
Tourmaline var. Uvite with Magnesite and Quartz
Brumado, Bahia, Northeast Region, Brazil
Beryl var. Aquamarine
Beryl var. Aquamarine
Quy Chau District, Nghe An Province, Vietnam
Heulandite with Stilbite
Heulandite with Stilbite
Jalgon, Maharashtra State, India
Quartz Var. Rose
Quartz Var. Rose
Lavra da Ilha Pegmatite, Taquaral, Itinga, Aracuai, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Opal var. Hyalite
Opal var. Hyalite
San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Copper pseudomorph after Cuprite

Copper pseudomorph after Cuprite

sold
Locality
Rubtsovsky Mine, Altai Krai, Siberia, Russia
Minerals
Copper, Cuprite
Dimensions
2.9 x 1.9 x 1.8
Size class
Thumbnail
SID
CUPRITE5

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. 

These two cuprite crystals have mostly been replaced by copper, but not entirely. It weighs 15.8 grams and is in excellent condition, no damage. 

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