Victoria Mine

Photograph by Alan Rice.

Photography contest, Honorable Mention.

Victoria Mine
100 meters underground in the Victoria Mine, Ely, Nevada. The small but extremely high-grade copper ore body is made up of copper minerals: azurite [2CuCO3·Cu(OH)2] (dark blue), malachite [CuCO3·Cu(OH)2] (green), chrysocolla [(Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5(OH)4·n(H2O)] (blue-green), and chalcopyrite [CuFeS2] (golden yellow), as well as several other non-copper minerals like iron pyrite [FeS2] (pale brass-yellow). While spectacular and very high-grade (about 16 % Cu), the ore body is difficult to mine due to its depth, small size and weak structure.