Azurite set

specimen number:
2063625

location:
Blue Ball mine, Gila Co., Arizona, USA

description:
A set of blue crystallized balls of azurite, three of these broken open to reveal the crystallized interior, two left as collected. Size provided for the largest example.

The Blue Ball mine, located near Globe in Gila County, Arizona, is a famous mineral locality renowned among collectors primarily for its unique nodular formations. Geologically situated within the mineral-rich Globe-Miami district, the deposit features copper carbonate minerals that formed as secondary alteration products within altered sedimentary clay zones, predominantly white kaolinite. Hydrothermal copper-bearing solutions reacted with carbonates to precipitate distinctive spherical concretions of intense dark blue azurite, often intergrown with green malachite. Mined on a modest scale historically as a small underground copper prospect, the site gained widespread notoriety in the mid-to-late 20th century as mineral collectors and lapidaries sought out these distinctive azurite balls for specimen display and gemstone cutting. Today, the locality holds a special place in regional Arizona mineral history due to the aesthetic quality and unusual round habit of its specimens.

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