Chrysocolla and Malachite

Item Description

This cabinet specimen is from the well-known Ray Mine in Arizona, and it is covered end-to-end by a layer of botryoidal Chrysocolla. These botryoids, averaging about 1 mm, have good luster and a rich color palette that varies from a quintessential, turquoise-blue to a greenish-blue (likely from traces of Malachite). There are dustings of Malachite around the piece, which add credence to that idea of the tinting, as well adding visual and mineralogical interest. This is a good, showy piece for the Ray Mine, where initial production dates back over a century to 1911. Specimens like this were found in the 1980s and mined for the mineral wholesale market, although they are few and far between now.