Azurite with Malachite

specimen number:
2292202

location:
LaSal, San Juan Co., Utah, USA

description:
Attractive blue lustrous crystals of azurite across a malachite matrix. In good condition.

The La Sal area in San Juan County, Utah, is a historical mining region famous for producing distinct spherical azurite nodules found within poorly cemented sandstones. Geologically, these azurite deposits formed as secondary supergene minerals in the oxidized zones of stratified copper-bearing sedimentary rocks where carbonate-rich groundwater reacted with primary copper sulfides. Commercial open-pit mining and mechanized excavation for copper ore in the district peaked during the 1960s and early 1970s under operators like Keystone-Wallace Resources. Following the cessation of large-scale corporate mining, the area transitioned into localized extraction, with independent miners and collectors sporadically operating small surface workings to recover these prized blue mineral specimens well into the 2020s.

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