Azurite with Malachite

Item Description

This item is part of a special benefit auction for the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (ricenorthwestmuseum.org). Items are either deaccessions from the museum's collection or were donated by generous supporters listed below.

Auction open April 1, 2021 through April 17, 2021.

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, April 19, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

This is an excellent Azurite piece from what is known as the Crystal Zone of the Old Town workings at the famous Morenci Mine in Arizona. This copper mining operation began in the late 1800s and continues today. This piece is composed of a few dozen, super lustrous, sharply formed, royal blue, short, prismatic crystals that cascade off to the right side of the piece from the top. Crystals range in size from less than a centimeter up to 2.5 cm in length. The matrix consists of vuggy, brown to red-brown Goethite matrix that is splashed with 1 to 3 mm tufts of green Malachite sprays, all providing great contrast and aesthetics. There is minor contacting around the periphery and one crystal in the group is compromised. A showy and nicely composed piece from the famous Morenci Mine. The crystals are so sharp and glassy, it is hard to believe these are Morenci, I admit. But, it is - and with spectacular visual effect. This particular zone was encountered by the mine for the first time in the early 1980s. Some collecting was done in 1988 and then during the 1990s. The zone was entirely mined out by 2003.