Detailed information
Species
Native Copper, Quartz
Dimensions
88 x 124 x 37
mm
Weight
522 g
Locality
Wheal Unity St. Day United Mines, Gwennap Cornwall, England
Condition
No recorded repairs
This very large cabinet specimen of hackly and crystallized Native Copper with shards of vein Quartz is from the famous copper mine Wheal Unity - Wheal being the Cornish word for "work". We are all familiar with the fantastic copper arsenates (Olivenite, Liroconite and Clinoclase) recovered from Wheal Unity during the earliest years of the 19th century, but Native Copper less so. The upper reaches of many of the mines in that district had oxidation zones extending from surface down to, in some instances, over 100 metres deep. These oxidation zones showed vertical zonation, with Native Copper metal and Cuprite (copper oxide) found at, or near to the level of the water table. At over half a kilogram in weight, most of that being copper metal, this is an incredibly rich Native Copper specimen.
