Chrysocolla on Malachite after Azurite with Quartz

specimen number:
8311121

location:
Tenke-Fungurume area, Lualaba, DR Congo

description:

Bladed crystals of what were most likely azurite measuring to 5.0 cm in length replaced by green malachite and coated brilliant blue chrysocolla. This is forming an aesthetic cluster, the entire specimen micro quartz crystals. In very good condition.

A pseudomorph is a mineral specimen in which one mineral replaces another while preserving the original crystal shape. In the case of chrysocolla after malachite after azurite, the process occurs in stages within the oxidized zones of copper deposits. First, azurite alters to malachite through chemical reactions involving water and carbon dioxide. Later, malachite is replaced by chrysocolla, often through the introduction of silica rich solutions. The final specimen retains the original azurite crystal form, but the material has been successively replaced, resulting in a complex pseudomorph that records multiple stages of mineral alteration.

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