Cuprite on Calcite

Emke Mine in Namibia has produced some very large cuprite (copper oxide) crystals, with some being of gem quality and able to be faceted into rare dark-red gemstones. This crystal example on calcite has a coating of velvety green malachite. The crystal geometry shows a combination of two superimposed crystal shapes, the cube (six crystal faces) and the octahedron (eight crystal faces). At 5 x 2.4 cm, this is one of the largest cuprite crystals ever found from this locality, collected about 1973. Albert Chapman purchased this fine specimen in 1975 from the Luis T Leite Collection.

Emke Mine, Onganja, Namibia. 5 x 4.5 x 4.3 cm. D.50195. Albert Chapman Collection.

Onganja, Namibia. 55 ct. D.5226.