Chlorargyrite

specimen number:
2273011

location:
Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA

description:
Crystals of chlorargyrite quite rich throughout matrix with malachite. An excellent example for the species from this mining district. The specimen comes with several previous labels as shown at the end of the video.

The Bisbee mining district, situated in the Mule Mountains of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, was one of the premier copper, silver, and gold producing regions in the United States, exploited through an expansive network of both deep underground mines and a massive open-pit quarry. Geologically, the district centers on the Warren mining district, where the structural centerpiece is the Jurassic-age Sacramento Hill porphyry copper stock which intruded Paleozoic sedimentary sequences, particularly the thick, reactive Escabrosa Limestone. This intense igneous activity triggered widespread contact metamorphism, creating extensive replacement bodies and skarns that subsequently underwent deep supergene enrichment, transforming low-grade primary sulfides into spectacular zones of native copper, malachite, azurite, cuprite, and chalcocite within a silica-iron gangue. Historically, the deposit was first discovered by army scouts and prospectors in 1877, leading to the formation of the legendary Copper Queen Mine and triggering an immense mining boom that established the town of Bisbee. Large-scale corporate operations dominated by the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company, and later Phelps Dodge Corporation, expanded the district into a world-class industrial hub with the development of the underground workings and the excavation of the famous Lavender Pit open quarry starting in 1950. Continuous commercial production thrived for nearly a century until declining ore grades and rising operational costs led to the permanent cessation of open-pit operations in 1974 and the final closure of the remaining underground workings in 1975, after which the district successfully transitioned into a historic preservation and heritage tourism center through 2026.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.