Covellite

specimen number:
1052489

location:
Butte, Montana, USA

description:
Beautiful blue iridescent rich masses of covellite throughout matrix with minor pyrite. A good antique example that comes with an old label dating this to the very early 20th century. This label is shown at the end of the video.

Butte, Montana, is one of the most important historic mining districts in the United States, with mining activity beginning in the 1860s following the discovery of placer gold and later expanding to rich lode deposits of silver and copper. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Butte had become one of the worlds leading sources of copper, with extensive underground mines developed to exploit hydrothermal vein deposits hosted in granitic and volcanic rocks. The district is characterized by complex mineralization formed from metal rich fluids that deposited copper, silver, zinc, and other metals in structurally controlled zones. Large scale open pit mining later took place at the Berkeley Pit. Mining operations evolved over time rather than having a single opening or closing date, but major underground mining declined by the mid to late 20th century, with many operations ceasing by the 1970s and 1980s, while some mining and processing activities have continued in various forms into more recent times.

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