Cuprite

specimen number:
8311234

location:
Milpillas Mine, Sonora, Mexico

description:
Lustrous deep red slightly translucent crystals of cuprite to 1.0 cm in size on matrix. In great condition, very choice miniature for the species from this famous locality.

The Milpillas Mine, situated near Cuitaca in Sonora, Mexico, is a world-class copper deposit famous for producing some of the finest secondary copper minerals ever discovered. Geologically, it is a supergene-enriched porphyry copper system that was hidden beneath several hundred meters of post-mineralization gravels and volcanic rocks, which preserved its rich oxidation zone from erosion. The cuprite from Milpillas is exceptional, often occurring as sharp, lustrous octahedral crystals that can reach several centimeters in size, frequently exhibiting a deep ruby-red transparency when backlighted. These specimens are often found in dramatic association with native copper or covered by a thin layer of bright blue chrysocolla. Historically, the deposit was identified in the 1990s through geophysical methods, and the Penoles mining company began underground operations in 2006. While the mine is an industrial site focused on copper cathode production via solvent extraction, its peak period for specimen recovery lasted from 2006 through the early 2010s. Today, Milpillas cuprite is considered a modern classic, rivaling historic finds from Namibia and Arizona in terms of crystal size and aesthetic quality.

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