Copper (CU-0019)

specimen number:
9273164

location:
Dzezkazgan, Karaganda, Kazakhstan

description:

Very fine loose cluster of twinned native copper crystals. In great condition.

The Dzhezkazgan mining district, situated in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan, is one of the largest and most historically significant copper-producing areas in the world. Geologically, the deposit is a premier example of a sediment-hosted stratiform copper system, where mineralization occurs within thick sequences of upper Paleozoic Permian and Carboniferous sandstones and conglomerates. Hydrothermal fluids circulating through these sedimentary basins deposited copper minerals, predominantly chalcocite, bornite, and chalcopyrite, along specific bedding planes, creating extensive, flat-lying tabular ore bodies. Large-scale industrial exploitation began in 1928 under Soviet state direction following extensive geological surveys led by Kanysh Satpayev. The site saw massive development with the construction of the Dzhezkazgan Mining and Metallurgical Combine, utilizing both large open-pit quarries and complex underground shaft systems. Commercial mining and smelting operations have run continuously for nearly a century and remain highly active through recent years under the management of Kazakhmys, which continues to extract massive volumes of copper ore from the district.

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