Native Copper with Cuprite Mineral Specimen

COPPER

HISTORY, NAME, LOCALITIES: Known since antiquity, copper was one of the first metals ever used.  Its name stems from the Latin Cyprium, literally “metal of Cyprus,” a reference to early copper mines on the island of Cyprus.  Notable collecting localities are found in China, Cyprus, Peru, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States (Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Montana).

MINERALOGY, PROPERTIES, OCCURRENCE: Copper [native metal, Cu], pronounced KAH-per, crystallizes in the cubic system as scales, plates, irregular masses, branching aggregates, and crystals.  Crystals, usually small dodecahedrons and occasionally cubes and octahedrons, are crudely developed and elongated, flattened, or otherwise distorted.  Copper has a Mohs hardness of 2.5-3.0, a specific gravity of 8.9, bright metallic luster on fresh surfaces, and pronounced malleability.  Its color, a copper-red to pinkish-red on clean surfaces and green to greenish-black on tarnished surfaces, is diagnostic.  Native copper is deposited by copper-rich groundwater in fractures and fissures of basaltic rocks; small amounts also occur in hydrothermal replacement deposits.

METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES, LORE, USES: Modern metaphysical practitioners believe that copper heals the mind and body, assists in communicating, and helps to project the energies of other minerals.  Wearing copper bracelets is a popular folk remedy to alleviate arthritic pain.  In ancient times, native copper was a primary ore of the metal.

COLLECTORS’ INFORMATION: Bright pieces of acid-cleaned native copper, with their bright, distinctive color and unusual shapes, are among the most sought-after of all mineral specimens.