Description
Species: Native Copper
Locality: 5150 Bench, East Pit, Chino Mine, Bayard, Grant County, New Mexico, USA
Dimensions: 7 x 2 x 2.3 cm.
This is a fine group of well-crystallized spinel-twinned copper crystals from the 5150 Bench, East Pit, Chino Mine, near Bayard, Grant County, New Mexico, USA. The Chino mine is known for it’s world-class native copper crystals, which have not been found in significant examples since around 2011. I was lucky to recently obtain a small lot of excellent crystallized coppers from this famous locality. Unlike many coppers from Chino, these have not been chemically cleaned and have a beautiful and 100% natural cuprite and tenorite (red to black) patina. This piece is highly 3-dimensional and has fine aesthetics and a striking red patina. Mark Cross photo.