Azurite

specimen number:
2102325

location:
United Verde Mine, Jerome, Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA

description:
A superb crystallized ball of lustrous blue bladed azurite crystals. This is in good condition with very minimal micro-damage present. Quite nice for this old Arizona classic.

The United Verde mine, situated on the steep slopes of Cleopatra Hill above the historic town of Jerome in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States, is a legendary mining locality celebrated for producing massive copper sulfide ores and magnificent secondary copper minerals. Geologically, this immense deposit is a Precambrian-age volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) system, formed roughly 1.7 billion years ago by underwater volcanic vents and submarine hot springs that deposited dense layers of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite within ancient seafloor basalt and rhyolite formations. Subsequent tectonic folding and millions of years of supergene weathering enriched the upper portions of the ore body, creating thick zones of native copper, malachite, azurite, and rich cuprite crystals inside open oxidation cavities. Historically, organized small-scale mining began at the site in 1876, but large-scale industrial operations truly accelerated after the property was acquired by William A. Clark in 1888, transforming the United Verde Copper Company into one of the most profitable copper producers in the world. Massive underground shaft networks and a colossal open-pit quarry, which utilized innovative pit-smelting and steam-shovel methods, operated continuously through major economic booms and labor strikes until declining ore grades and high costs forced the permanent cessation of all primary mining operations in 1953.

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