Cuprite - image 1

Cuprite

U

University of Texas at Austin
0 for sale
Cuprite crystals showing modified dodecahedrons, 7cm, from the Milpillas mine, Cuitaca, Sonora, Mexico. The photo shows both the submetallic luster and the red translucency. Illustrated in the Milpillas Issue of the Mineralogical Record (vol. 52, no. 5). Ex Evan Jones, Eric Long. Blanca Espinoza photo.

Product details

Species
CupriteAbout Cuprite →
Added on03/26/2026
Locality
Mexico, Sonora, Milpillas MineRegional guide →
Publications
  • Mineralogical Record 57 2 page 112

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
—Eric LongNot disclosed
—Evan JonesNot disclosed

Learn more

Cuprite
Mineral guide
Learn about Cuprite
ruby-red copper oxide crystals with brilliant luster, from cubes to octahedra, prized for color, rarity, and historic collecting appeal.
Cuprite
Regional guide
Cuprite from Milpillas Mine, Mexico
from the Milpillas Mine is a modern Mexican classic: not abundant like the mine’s famous azurite and malachite, but instantly recognizable when good. The best pieces carry sharp, lustrous, deep red to silvery-red Cu2O crystals on pale dickite, rock, massive cuprite, or copper-rich matrix. Under ordinary light many crystals look metallic, even gunmetal or silvered; under strong light or backlighting the better ones reveal the blood-red, cherry-red translucency that makes Milpillas cuprite so compelling.