Cuprite var. Chalcotrichite

An old 19th-century miniature specimen of the Cuprite variety Chalcotrichite from the South Caradon mine which worked a copper deposit in the Liskeard District of Cornwall.  Specimens of Cuprite with Chalcotrichite are very seldom seen on the mineral market nowadays.  This specimen displays a near solid mass of greyish metallic red Cuprite with many cavities lined with crystal networks of Chalcotrichite, the acicular variety of Cuprite. The outer surface has a thin zone of mixed white to blue green Chrysocolla and Malachite with tiny crystals of emerald green Brochantite and possible black Tenorite.