Copper (CU-0048)

specimen number:
9273054

location:
Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas, Namibia

description:

Beautifully crystallized branching native copper specimen from this famous Namibian locality. In excellent condition. Complete all around.

The Onganja mine, historically known at times as the Emke or Otjozonjati mine, is located roughly 65 kilometers northeast of Windhoek in the Khomas Region of Namibia and is celebrated among collectors for producing world-class, giant cuprite and native copper specimens. Geologically, the deposit consists of a late-stage, post-orogenic iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) sheeted vein complex hosted within the Neoproterozoic quartz-plagioclase-biotite schists and metasediments of the Kuiseb Formation, situated in the Southern Zone of the Damara Orogen. Hydrothermal fluids deposited subvertical, north-trending quartz-calcite veins rich in chalcopyrite, pyrite, magnetite, and molybdenite, with spectacular secondary oxidation zones containing native metals and copper carbonates. Indigenous peoples extracted copper from localized surface outcrops for centuries, with early records noting activity back to the 1600s, but formal commercial history began under German colonial influence around 1903 when the Otjozonjati Minensyndikat commenced organized extraction and exported the first major shipments of ore. Underground shaft mining and surface prospecting operations continued intermittently through various corporate ownership changes for decades, experiencing a notable operational renaissance in the early 1970s that unearthed the mine's legendary crystal pockets, followed by later dump-reclamation and heap-leaching activities that ran from the late 1980s until primary operations ceased and the deep shafts were permanently closed and allowed to flood in 1995.

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