Copper (CU-0043)

specimen number:
9273199

location:
Rocklands, Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia

description:

Attractive crystallized native copper specimen without matrix. In great condition.

The Rocklands copper mine (historically known as the Great Australia or Las Minerals complex), situated near Cloncurry in northwest Queensland, Australia, is a notable modern open-cut mining operation developed within a classic Proterozoic ore province. Geologically, the deposit is located in the eastern fold belt of the Mount Isa Inlier, where deep-seated structural shears and breccia zones hosted rich hydrothermal copper-gold-cobalt mineralization, featuring extensive native copper and supergene chalcocite near the surface before transitioning to primary chalcopyrite. While the surrounding Cloncurry district saw basic prospecting and localized copper extraction dating back to the late nineteenth century, modern industrial development at Rocklands began with extensive exploratory drilling in the early 2000s. Commercial open-cut mining and large-scale processing operations officially commenced on the site around 2012 under CuDeco Limited. The facility operated continuously through the mid-2010s to extract high-grade copper ore and native copper components, but financial difficulties and corporate restructuring led to a suspension of operations around 2016, with the site subsequently entering a care and maintenance phase while undergoing ownership transitions and secondary exploration assessments.

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