Copper

specimen number:
8311227

location:
Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA

description:
Loose choice crystallized grouping of sharply formed native copper crystals. In good condition.

The Bisbee mining district, located in the Mule Mountains of Cochise County, Arizona, is one of the most famous and productive mineral localities in North America. Geologically, the area is characterized by the Warren District, where massive replacement deposits and "porphyry" style mineralization occur within Paleozoic limestones, specifically the Escabrosa and Martin formations. These deposits were formed by hydrothermal fluids associated with the Jurassic-aged Sacramento Hill quartz monzonite porphyry, resulting in spectacular secondary enrichment zones that produced world-class specimens of azurite, malachite, and cuprite. Historically, the first claims were filed in 1877, leading to the formation of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company, which eventually became part of Phelps Dodge Corporation. The district saw intense activity through both underground and open-pit methods, including the famous Lavender Pit which opened in 1954. Large-scale mining operations continued for nearly a century until the depletion of high-grade ores led to the cessation of copper production in 1975. Today, Bisbee remains an iconic name in mineralogy, recognized for the incomparable quality and variety of its colorful copper carbonates that reside in major museum collections globally.

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