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:Materialscientist" title="User:Materialscientist">Materialscientist</a> (<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Materialscientist" title="User talk:Materialscientist"><span class="signature-talk">talk</span></a>)</li></ul> (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Description
This specimen of native copper displays a bright, reddish-orange metallic luster with some darker tarnished areas, forming an intricate, branching dendritic or arborescent structure.
Geological Context
Native copper commonly forms in the oxidized zones of copper sulfide deposits, in basaltic lavas where it precipitates from hydrothermal fluids, or as a primary mineral in some sedimentary environments.
