Cuprite is the compound cuprous oxide, with the copper in a monovalent state. Its Mohs hardness is 3.5 to 4. Its color ranges from the dark red-brown of this copper ore specimen to the spectacular crimson and scarlet shades you'll see in rock-shop specimens. Cuprite is always found with other copper minerals, in this case green malachite and gray chalcocite. It forms by the weathering and oxidation of copper sulfide minerals. It may display cubic or octahedral crystals.
Cuprite is a copper oxide, Cu2O, and an important ore of copper found in weathered zones of copper ore bodies. (more below)
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