Malachite

specimen number:
8311389

location:
Cole Shaft, Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA

description:

Classic specimen from Arizona with beautiful velvety crystallized malachite covering most all sides of this matrix. In great condition.

The Cole Shaft, located in Bisbee, Warren District, Cochise County, Arizona, was a major production unit within the legendary Copper Queen Mine complex. Geologically, it targeted rich replacement deposits and oxide ore bodies hosted in the Paleozoic Escabrosa and Martin Limestones, where copper mineralization was concentrated along faults and intrusive contacts. The shaft is particularly famous among mineralogists for producing spectacular specimens of native copper, cuprite, and various carbonates such as azurite and malachite within its oxidized zones. Historically, the shaft was named after Thomas F. Cole and was a primary operation for the Calumet and Arizona Mining Company before being acquired by Phelps Dodge in 1931. The shaft was sunk in the early 1900s and remained a vital part of Bisbee's underground production for over half a century, eventually ceasing major operations in the mid-1970s as the district transitioned toward open-pit mining and eventual closure. Today, the Cole Shaft stands as a significant landmark of the era of high-grade underground copper mining that made Bisbee one of the most productive mineral districts in American history.

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