Copper

specimen number:
2133424

location:
Chino Pit, Santa Rita, Grant Co., New Mexico, USA

description:
A loose cluster of twinned crystals of native copper. In great condition all around.

The Chino pit, also known as the Santa Rita mine, located in Grant County, New Mexico, is one of the oldest and largest open-pit copper mining operations in North America. Geologically, it is a classic porphyry copper deposit associated with a Tertiary-aged granodiorite stock that intruded Paleozoic sedimentary limestones and Cretaceous sandstones. Hydrothermal alteration and subsequent supergene enrichment created massive ore zones rich in chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and spectacular native copper specimens. Mining at Santa Rita began around 1801 when Spanish operators extracted underground ore to supply the royal mint in Mexico. Large-scale open-pit quarrying commenced in 1910 under the Chino Copper Company and revolutionized the district through mechanized steam shovel extraction. The mine has operated continuously through various corporate acquisitions, including Kennecott and Phelps Dodge, and it remains an active, major producer of copper and molybdenum under Freeport-McMoRan into the twenty-first century.

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