Cuprite

specimen number:
2063634

location:
Ray Mine, Pinal Co., Arizona, USA

description:
Sharp deep red lustrous octahedral crystals of cuprite measuring to 0.4 cm in size on matrix. In good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark. This label notes that this specimen was collected by John Mediz in 1981 along the Emperor fault at the north end of the Pearl Handle pit.

Located in Pinal County, Arizona, the Ray Mine is a massive porphyry copper deposit situated within a complex system of Precambrian schists and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks intruded by Laramide-age igneous bodies. Over millions of years, primary copper sulfides underwent extensive supergene enrichment and hydrothermal alteration, concentrating rich secondary copper minerals near the surface. Native Americans initially extracted copper in the region, followed by modern mining operations beginning in the late nineteenth century that transformed Ray into one of North America's largest open-pit copper mines. For rockhounding enthusiasts and museum collectors, the Ray Mine is historically notable for producing exceptional specimens of cuprite, a secondary copper oxide mineral found in oxidized zones, often occurring as sharp, lustrous octahedral crystals and translucent red gemmy masses alongside chrysocolla and native copper.

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