Quartz on Chrysocolla and Malachite
stock #20.1-176
Phelps Dodge Morenci Mine, Morenci, Copper Mt. Mining District, Greenlee
Arizona,
United States
11.6 x 8.1 x 6.2 CM (cabinet)
price: $1100
Spring 2020
A large colorful Copper secondary display specimen from an old find in Arizona. A druze of tiny clear Quartz crystals is covering many green Malachite balls and areas of bright blue Chrysocolla. The overall effect is sparkling and vivid in person. A sizable specimen from Morenci. The bulk of the matrix is layers of Chrysocolla in several shades of blue looking like a rich Turquoise. Some of those thin layers seem to be "gem Silica" that when thick enough is highly sought after for Lapidary. These layers are too thin for that and the surrounding Chrysocolla is quite brittle besides. The matrix has been properly stabilized to keep it from cracking as some Chrysocolla can do. This piece is early sixties vintage and simply eyecatching.