Cornetite from the Blue Mine, South Africa
During a field trip in South Africa, I visited the famous Blue Mine in Springbok. This old mine is part of the O’Okiep copper district located in the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex.
The Blue Mine is historically significant as it is considered as the first ‘mining operation’ in South Africa. The mineralised outcrops have been mined by the native people of Namaqualand long before the arrival of European, but industrial mining started only in 1852 with this very mine.