Hello! My name is Yichen Nie. I was born and raised in Shenzhen, China. I got my first mineral specimen about 15 years ago. That was a classic cinnabar on dolomite specimen from Fenghuang, Hunan. However, I didn’t realize I would become a mineral collector at that time. Things have changed in 2021, when I decided to formally start collecting copper minerals, just because of their colors. One year later, I moved to Boston to continue my PhD studies. I realized that copper minerals are rich in the US, which makes them much more assessible to me than before. This discovery becomes Copper World — an ongoing project that brings together a growing collection of copper minerals and occasional notes about them. There are now around 220 distinct species in the collection, added slowly over time.
My favorite minerals are organic copper minerals.
All photos shown on this website are taken by me, unless stated otherwise. I am happy to share or authorize my photos for academic/non-commercial uses. Please contact me (copperworld.org@gmail.com) and let me know if you would like to use my photos.
Copper World 