What to Cut
MOHAWKITE
BY RUSS KANIUTH
Mohawkite is a rare copper mixture found in only one place, on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. It was first discovered around 1900 in the Mohawk copper mine, which is where it got its name.
COLORS & PATTERNS
Mohawkite is one of those beautiful materials that stand out for its desirable natural metallic designs, much like Josephine’s Crown, or gold in quartz.
Its colors range from a metallic yellow to grey, and at times it has a blueishgreen tarnish. The coloring comes from its two main ingredients, algodonite and domeykite, both arsenic-rich copper minerals. Most have a beautiful spiderwebbing pattern, while other nuggets can be solid metallic. The most desirable pieces used in lapidary are the mixed metallics in quartz.