Azurite with Malachite (fine locality specimen)

Item Description

The famous Burra Burra Copper Mine in South Australia dates back to 1845. It is well-known for its secondary copper minerals, like Azurite and Malachite, some excellent specimens of lapidary grade banded Malachite, which predated the now famous material from the Congo. All of this material is now reasonably difficult to find on the market. The locality is now closed and now under the control of The South Australian Heritage Trust, and all collecting is prohibited. This specimen is really good Azurite for the locality as the crystals have a deep blue color, with sharp, lustrous faces. A lot of the Azurites from this locality have a softer "matte" luster, with less defined crystallization, and a softer blue color, but this one really stands out as one of the best examples we've ever seen from Burra Burra, and it's a full cabinet-sized display specimen. The largest crystal measures about 6 mm. Accenting minty green Malachite makes for a nice touch, and gives the piece and added splash of complimentary color. If you collect secondary ore mineral, copper species or simply minerals from Australia, do NOT pass up this fine quality piece from one of the most well-known copper producing localities in Australia. Valued $2,500.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#117 A), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the coming months and years through our various platforms.