Brochantite

specimen number:
8311404

location:
Milpillas Mine, Sonora, Mexico

description:
Brilliant cluster of deep green lustrous prismatic brochantite crystals without matrix. In excellent condition.

The Milpillas Mine, situated in the Cuitaca area of Santa Cruz Municipality in Sonora, Mexico, is a world-class copper deposit located within the prolific Cananea mining district. Geologically, it is a high-grade, supergene-enriched porphyry copper deposit buried beneath hundreds of meters of post-mineral gravels, which protected its spectacular oxidation zone from erosion. The mine is celebrated by mineralogists for producing some of the world's finest brochantite specimens, which typically occur as sprays of deep emerald-green, acicular crystals with exceptional luster and transparency. Historically, the deposit was discovered using advanced geophysical methods in the 1990s because it had no surface expression. Industrial underground operations, managed by Industrias Penoles, began production in 2006 and continued for over a decade. While the mine was primarily an industrial copper producer, the periodic discovery of secondary mineral pockets established Milpillas as a legendary locality for aesthetic copper carbonates and sulfates until the gradual depletion of the oxide zones shifted focus toward deeper primary ores.

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