Cuprite from Rubtsovskiy Mine, Altaiskiy Krai, Russia

The mineral cuprite is a copper (I) oxide with the chemical formula Cu2O. The translucent to translucent brown-red, purple-red, red or black cupric has a diamond sheen, a brown-red stripe color and the splitting of the mineral is imperfect according to the crystal plane [111]. The crystal system is cubic. Cuprite has an average density of 6.1, the hardness is 3.5 to 4 and the mineral is not radioactive. The name of the mineral cuprite is derived from cuprum, the Latin name for the chemical composition; the element copper. Cuprite is a general copper oxide that occurs in all kinds of copper-containing rocks. The type location of cuprite is not defined. The mineral is found in the Christmas mine in Gila County, Arizona, the United States, in the Tsumeb mine at Tsumeb, Namibia and in the Mashamba West mine in Shaba, Congo-Kinshasa.