Image: “Jon Zander (<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Digon3" title="User:Digon3">Digon3</a>)" (CC BY-SA 3.0)
cubicuncommonNative Elements
Copper
Cu
This image displays a macro view of native copper, characterized by its distinctive reddish-brown metallic luster, often with areas of tarnish or patination. It typically forms in irregular, massive, or dendritic aggregates.
Copper Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
2.5Crystal System
cubicLuster
metallicStreak Color
copper-redCleavage
noneFracture
hacklySpecific Gravity
8.9Colors
copper-red, brown, greenTransparency
opaqueType Locality
Keweenaw Peninsula (Michigan, USA), Bolivia, Russia, Australia, ChileMineral Group
Native ElementsUses
electrical conductor, coinage, plumbing, jewelry, collectorAssociated Minerals
cuprite, malachite, azurite, chalcocite, bornite, calcite, epidote, quartzRarity
uncommonGeological Context
Native copper commonly forms in the oxidized zones of copper sulfide deposits, within basaltic lava flows (filling amygdules), and occasionally in hydrothermal veins. It is a primary ore of copper and is often found alongside other copper-bearing minerals.
