Detailed information
Species
Native Copper
Dimensions
27 x 41 x 20
mm
Weight
37 g
Locality
Boddington Mine, Boddington Boddington Shire, Western Australia Australia
Condition
No recorded repairs
Boddington mine in Boddington Shire, Western Australia is a sizable gold mine, so you might ask why is there Native Copper. Well, much of the gold is associated with oxidized copper ores, and in the early days of prospecting/mining (c. 1980s or 1990s) one of the geologists spotted a concentration of crystallized Native Copper and recovered as many specimens as possible, some of which were deposited in Australian museums. This miniature-sized specimen was acquired by David Hardman for his comprehensive worldwide collection of Native Copper and was obtained when he sold his collection. It is strangely nodular, or tuberous in its overall form, but with small crystals across all of its surfaces. The near surface oxidized zone containing Native Copper was short-lived and the vast gold mine has also long since closed, so it is now only as older collections get recycled that specimens like this become available.