Cuprite on Copper Mineral Specimen

Our cuprite specimens were collected at the Carissa Pit in the Copper Basin area of the Battle Mountain Mining District. This district is near the community of Battle Mountain in Lander County, in the arid, basin-and-range country of north-central Nevada. Although unincorporated, Battle Mountain, population 3,600, is Lander County’s largest community and its county seat. Covering 5,519 square miles, Lander County is larger than the state of Connecticut, yet it has only 6,000 residents. Battle Mountain’s economy is based on gold and base-metal mining, ranching, and providing services for travelers on Interstate 80.
Copper mining began in the Battle Mountain Mining District in 1866, when a number of small mines were developed. The district’s largest mine, the Copper Canyon Mine, produced copper and gold from 1917 to 1955, then reopened as an open pit in 1967. The discovery of additional copper ore zones, along with those of gold, silver, lead, and zinc, instilled new life into the district in the 1980s. Today, the major district mines are the Tomboy, Midas, Fortitude, and Phoenix open-pit mines, and the Copper Canyon underground mine.