Gem News International Gems & Gemology, Summer 2014, Vol. 50, No. 2

Shattuckite from the DRC

Stuart Overlin

两件斜硅铜矿样本
Figure 1. These intense blue shattuckite specimens are from a recent find in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Brett Kosnar; courtesy of Brett Kosnar, Kosnar Gem Co.
At the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Brett Kosnar of Mineral Classics (Black Hawk, Colorado) exhibited rare specimens of shattuckite from the Democratic Republic of Congo. A new find of this intense medium to dark blue copper silicate (figure 1) occurred in the Kambove District in October 2013. The mineral has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 and is used for cabochons and carvings. Shattuckite has been reported from various African and European sources, as well as copper mines in the American West. The type locality is the Shattuck-Denn mine in Bisbee, Arizona (R. Bowell and R. Cook, “Connoisseur’s Choice: Shattuckite: Kunene District, Kaokoveld, Namibia,” Rocks & Minerals, Vol. 84, November/December 2009, pp. 544–550).

Kosnar’s Congolese shattuckite is being stabilized prior to jewelry manufacturing. He plans to debut cabochons of this very limited material at Tucson in 2015. 

Stuart Overlin is the editor of Gems & Gemology.