NATIVE Copper

Unknown Owner

Native Copper, or naturally occurring (as opposed to refined) copper metal, was well known in many Cornish copper mines but it was always found in the near surface oxidation zones and was therefore encountered very early on and then disappeared as the mines went deeper. Consequently, most Native Copper specimens are very old indeed. This cabinet-sized display specimen is a lovely, thin, mesh-like aggregate of intricately woven dendritic Native Copper crystals. Extremely distinctive, it oozes character. It is from the copper mines in Gwennap parish.