The structure of this quite remarkable and unique Cuprite coating Native Copper lends itself to some famous architectural analogue; the only thing which comes to mind is Star Trek’s Deep Space Nine space station, you know the one, with sort-of curved vertical arms! From the Camborne-Redruth-St Day Mining District in Cornwall, the Native Copper appears to form well developed crystals, although these are largely masked by the rich overgrowth of Cuprite. Save for my DS9 analogy, the shape is difficult to describe, like a here-dimensional capital ‘H’ but with two cross bars. Its easier if you study the photos! The two near-vertical outer arms measure 6 cm long, despite the overall orthogonal dimensions being less. The Cuprite crystals are superb, typically translucent with many transparent zones, allowing the characteristic dark cherry red to shine through. Occasional equant shards of milk-white Quartz are scatted over the surface. This fabulous small cabinet specimen is mounted slightly off-vertical on a colourless acrylic base. It appears hot glue was used to attach it, so this can easily be removed in water, should you so wish. The specimen comes with two German labels, one of which appears relatively old; I’m guessing at about one hundred years.
