Native Copper
Image: <ul><li><a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Native_Copper_Macro_Digon3.jpg" title="File:Native Copper Macro Digon3.jpg">Native_Copper_Macro_Digon3.jpg</a>: “Jonathan Zander (<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Digon3" title="User:Digon3">Digon3</a>)"</li> <li>derivative work: <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mav" title="User:Mav">Mav</a> (<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Mav" title="User talk:Mav"><span class="signature-talk">talk</span></a>)</li></ul> (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Description
This specimen is an intricate, branching aggregate of native copper, displaying a bright, reddish-orange metallic luster with some darker tarnished areas, forming a botryoidal or dendritic habit.
Geological Context
Native copper typically forms in the oxidized zones of copper ore deposits, in hydrothermal veins, or as amygdule fillings in basaltic lava flows, often associated with secondary copper minerals.
