Azurite

specimen number:
2102189

location:
Morenci Mine, Greenlee Co., Arizona, USA

description:
A wonderful thumbnail specimen from this classic Arizona locality. Lustrous deep blue crystals of azurite across the top of matrix with very minimal malachite present. This would have been collected in the very early 1990s. In super condition.

The Morenci Mine, located in Greenlee County, Arizona, is one of the largest and most productive open-pit copper mines in the world. Geologically, the deposit is a classic Laramide-aged porphyry copper system centered on the Morenci and Longfellow stocks, where igneous intrusions created massive zones of disseminated mineralization and contact skarns in Paleozoic limestones. The mine is famous among collectors for producing spectacular secondary minerals, including vibrant azurite, malachite, and particularly fine turquoise and chrysocolla. Historically, mining in the district began in the early 1870s with the discovery of rich oxidized ores by the Joy brothers, leading to the formation of the Detroit Copper Company and later acquisition by Phelps Dodge. Large-scale open-pit mining commenced in 1937 and has continued uninterrupted through the present day under Freeport-McMoRan. As a cornerstone of the Arizona Copper Triangle, the Morenci Mine has produced billions of pounds of copper and remains a dominant industrial and mineralogical landmark in the American Southwest.

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