Copper (Native)
Image: “Jonathan Zander (<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Digon3" title="User:Digon3">Digon3</a>)" (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Mineral NameCopper (Native)
Chemical FormulaCu
Mohs Hardness2.5
Lustermetallic
Streak Colorcopper-red
Cleavagenone
Fracturehackly
Specific Gravity8.9
Colorscopper-red, brown, green
Transparencyopaque
Type LocalityKeweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, USA
Mineral GroupNative Elements
Useselectrical conductor, coinage, plumbing, jewelry, collector
Associated Mineralscalcite, epidote, prehnite, silver, cuprite, malachite, azurite
Rarityuncommon
Description
This specimen is a dendritic or arborescent aggregate of native copper, exhibiting a bright, metallic copper-red color with some darker tarnished areas, forming an intricate, branching structure.
Geological Context
Native copper typically forms in the oxidized zones of copper ore deposits, in basaltic lavas where it precipitates from hydrothermal fluids, or as secondary enrichment in sedimentary rocks.
