Chalcocite

This richly crystallised Chalcocite is from the wonderfully named Cook’s Kitchen mine at Pool, mid-way between the famous Cornish mining towns of Redruth and Camborne.  This area was the most intensely mined area in all of Cornwall and Cook’s Kitchen first came into operation as early as 1815, the same year as the battle of Waterloo.  Chalcosite was first discovered in this mining district and for many years was known as Redruthite.  This excellent small cabinet specimen of typical Cornish Quartz veinstone matrix with a porous gossan texture is richly strewn with sooty-black to dull metallic black terminated Chalcocite crystals up to about 5 mm tall.  The Chalcocite displays two habits, one as flattened pyramidal pointed crystals and the other as flattened hexagonal tabular saucers.  This lovely Cornish Chalcocite is from the Josef Clemente Collection of southern Germany.