Native Copper (Spinel Twin)

Locality: Bou Nahas Mine (Bou N'hass Mine), Oumjrane mining area, Alnif Cercle, Tinghir Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, Morocco

Native copper is a native element mineral made of copper, Cu. It was named from the Greek word for Cyprus, Kýpros, and described in 1843 by Wilhelm Haidinger. Spinel-twinned copper crystals are a distinctive collector form, with six-sided prismatic shapes.

Bou Nahas Mine is in the Oumjrane mining area of Alnif Cercle, Tinghir Province, in Morocco’s Drâa-Tafilalet Region, and it is a noted mineral locality within the Anti-Atlas region. It is known for producing native copper and has 16 valid minerals recorded there, including the type locality mineral bounahasite. For collectors, Bou Nahas remains significant as a compact, well-documented Moroccan mine locality that has yielded distinctive copper specimens and scientifically important rare species.

Bou Nahas Mine in the Oumjrane mining area of Tinghir Province, Morocco is a mineral locality best known to collectors for native copper and a suite of associated species. Mindat lists 16 valid minerals from the site and identifies it as the type locality for bounahasite, underscoring its scientific importance as well as its collecting appeal. Specimens from the mine are typically associated with quartz, and the locality remains relevant today as a source for Moroccan copper material with documented mineral diversity.