Azurite with Malachite

specimen number:
8282061

location:
Milpillas mine, Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico

description:

Beautiful lustrous blue sharp bladed crystals of azurite measuring to 2.0 cm in size on a matrix of white dickite with green crystallized malachite. This is in super condition. The color contrast is wonderful.

The Milpillas Mine, located in Sonora, Mexico, is a world-class copper deposit discovered in the late twentieth century through blind exploration beneath surface gravels, with commercial underground production beginning in the early 2000s. Geologically, the deposit is an oxidized supergene copper system formed through the weathering and leaching of primary sulfide orebodies hosted within volcanic and sedimentary rock sequences. Meteoric water circulating downward oxidized primary copper sulfides and transported the ions to favorable redox boundaries, where supergene enrichment created massive zones of secondary copper minerals. The mine has achieved legendary status among mineral collectors for producing pristine, highly lustrous specimens of vibrant blue azurite and emerald-green malachite, often forming magnificent rosettes and crystal aggregates perched on contrasting matrix.

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