Silver

specimen number:
2273007

location:
Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon, Lima, Peru

description:
A thick curling wire of native silver 2.0 cm in height coming off matrix. In great condition. At one time the specimen was part of the collection of Jordi Povill of Barcelona, Spain. There are no repairs on the specimen.

The Uchucchacua mine, located in the Oyon Province within the high Andes of Peru, is an exceptionally large and deep underground silver, lead, and zinc mining operation. Geologically, the deposit is a classic example of a carbonate-hosted, intrusion-related epithermal replacement and vein system, where thick Cretaceous-age limestones of the Jumasha and Celendin Formations were intruded by Miocene-age dacitic stocks and dikes. This intense igneous activity triggered widespread structural fracturing and fluid circulation, precipitating extensive orebodies rich in true silver-bearing sulfosalts like pyrargyrite and proustite, alongside other distinct sulfides such as alabandite, galena, and sphalerite, within a complex gangue of calcite, rhodochrosite, and quartz. Historically, organized commercial development at the property commenced in 1975 under the Peruvian mining company Compania de Minas Buenaventura, which rapidly expanded the infrastructure into a highly mechanized underground network utilizing multiple shafts and tracking adits. The operation maintained highly continuous production over subsequent decades, cementing its status as one of the premier silver producers in South America despite facing temporary suspensions due to localized exploratory transitions and community negotiations in the early 2020s, after which operations successfully resumed to drive active extraction, milling, and specialized specimen recovery through 2026.

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