Cuprite replacing Malachite

specimen number:
2063394

location:
Morenci Mine, Greenlee Co., Arizona, USA

description:
Two fairly sharp crystals of cuprite, these averaging 0.4 cm in size, set on matrix and in the process of being replaced by light green crystallized malachite. In good condition and quite neat for the locality. Collected by Brian Huntsman in 1985. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

The Morenci Mine, located in Greenlee County, Arizona, is one of the oldest and largest copper-producing operations in North America, with mining history dating back to the late 1860s and early 1870s following initial discoveries by pioneers like Army Captain Willcox and the subsequent involvement of the Lezinsky brothers. Geologically, the deposit is a massive porphyry copper system centered on intrusive monzonite porphyry cutting through Precambrian granite and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, where extensive supergene enrichment created vast blanket deposits of copper ores. Historically, operations transitioned from early underground high-grade extraction to massive open-pit mining and modern heap leaching, turning Morenci into a cornerstone of the American copper industry and a notable producer of fine secondary copper mineral specimens.

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