Azurite, Malachite and Chrysocolla
| ID | 308 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mineral |
Azurite
Malachite Chrysocolla |
|
| Location | Lupoto Mine - Lubumbashi - Haut-Katanga - Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| Fluorescence | LW-UV: close SW-UV: close |
|
| Mindat.org |
View Azurite information at mindat.org View Malachite information at mindat.org View Chrysocolla information at mindat.org |
|
Mindat data
| ID | 447 |
|---|---|
| Long ID | 1:1:447:3 |
| Formula |
Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2
|
| IMA Status |
0 1 |
| Other Occurrences | Found largely in the oxidized portions of copper deposits, it is a secondary mineral formed by the action of carbonated water acting on copper-containing minerals, or from Cu-containing solutions, such as CuSO^4 or CuCl^2 reacting with limestones. |
| Industrial | A very minor ore of copper. |
| Discovery Year | 1824 |
| Diapheny | Transparent,Translucent |
| Cleavage | Perfect on {011}; on {100} fair; on {110} in traces. |
| Tenacity | brittle |
| Colour | Azure blue, blue, light blue, or dark blue; light blue in transmitted light |
| Hardness (min) | 3.5 |
| Hardness (max) | 4.0 |
| Luminescence | None |
| Lustre | Vitreous |
| About the name | From the ancient Persian lazhward, meaning "blue", in allusion to the color. Name changed to azurite in 1824 by François Sulpice Beudant. |
| Streak | Light blue |
| Crystal System | Monoclinic |
| Cleavage Type | Perfect |
| Fracture type | Conchoidal |
| Morphology |
Tabular {001}, less common {102} or |
| Twinning |
Rare, across |
| UV | None. |
| key_elements |
0 |
| shortcode_ima | Azu |
| ID | 2550 |
|---|---|
| Long ID | 1:1:2550:4 |
| Formula |
Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
|
| IMA Status |
0 1 |
| Other Occurrences | It is the most common secondary mineral found in the oxidized zones of copper deposits. |
| Industrial | A minor ore of copper when abundant enough in a copper deposit. |
| Discovery Year | Unno |
| Diapheny | Opaque |
| Cleavage |
Perfect on |
| Tenacity | brittle |
| Colour | Bright green, with crystals deeper shades of green, even very dark to nearly black; green to yellowish green in transmitted light. |
| Hardness (min) | 3.5 |
| Hardness (max) | 4.0 |
| About the name | Named in antiquity (see Pliny the Elder, 79 CE) molochitus after the Greek μαλαχή, "mallows," in allusion to the green color of the leaves. Known in the new spelling, malachites, at least by 1661. |
| Streak | Light green |
| Crystal System | Monoclinic |
| Cleavage Type | Perfect |
| Fracture type | Splintery |
| Morphology | Crystals uncommon, usually short or long prismatic or acicular, parallel to [001]; often grouped in rosettes, sprays, or tufts. Botryoidal to mammillary aggregates of radiating fibrous crystals more common. It may also be massive, compact, and stalactitic. |
| Twinning | Untwinned crystals are extremely rare. Typically twinned on {100}, sometimes as penetration or polysynthetic twinning with the axis parallel to [201]. |
| Thermal Behaviour | Loses water at about 315°, leaving tenorite. |
| key_elements |
0 |
| shortcode_ima | Mlc |
| Group | Rosasite Group |
| ID | 1040 |
|---|---|
| Long ID | 1:1:1040:1 |
| Formula |
(Cu2-xAlx)H2-xSi2O5(OH)4 · nH2O
|
| IMA Status |
0 1 |
| Other Occurrences | Found in the oxidation zone of copper deposits, often encrusting or replacing earlier secondary minerals. |
| Industrial | A very minor ore of copper. |
| Discovery Year | 315 |
| Diapheny | Translucent,Opaque |
| Cleavage | None |
| Tenacity | brittle |
| Colour | Green, bluish green, blue, blackish blue to black, or brown and rarely yellow |
| Hardness (min) | 2.5 |
| Hardness (max) | 3.5 |
| Luminescence | None |
| Lustre | Vitreous - Dull |
| About the name | The name was first used by Theophrastus in 315 B.C. and comes from the Greek "chrysos", meaning "gold," and "kolla", meaning "glue," in allusion to the name of the material used to solder gold. André-Jean-François-Marie Brochant de Villiers revived the name in 1808. |
| Streak | Light green (unknown for black or yellow varieties) |
| Crystal System | Orthorhombic |
| Cleavage Type | None Observed |
| Fracture type | Irregular/Uneven,Sub-Conchoidal |
| Morphology | Most often found as cryptocrystalline to amorphous botryoidal aggregates and crusts. Crystals reported as fine acicular to fibrous, very rare. |
| Twinning | None reported. |
| key_elements |
0 |
| shortcode_ima | Ccl |
Details
Price: € 150
Dimensions: Not registered
Weight: 138 g
Visibile in overview:
Notes:
Pseudomorf Azurite-Malachite
| Symbol | Element | |
|---|---|---|
| Al | Aluminium | |
| C | Carbon | |
| Cu | Copper | |
| H | Hydrogen | |
| O | Oxygen | |
| Si | Silicium |