Malachite and Azurite from Bisbee

Designs based on a very fine example of Azurite Botroids and Malachite PRIMARY crystals from the famous Queen Copper Mine in Bisbee Arizona. Collected around 1900 and from the Yale University Mineral Collection. 

 Bisbee is a town in Cochise County, Arizona, USA that was once known for its copper mining. Azurite and malachite are two minerals that are commonly found in the oxidized zone of copper lodes1. Azurite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral with a chemical composition of Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2. It is best known for its characteristic deep blue to violet-blue color2. Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. It is usually found in opaque green masses and has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 43.

Some of the most classic specimens of Azurite with Malachite are those from Bisbee, Arizona. A portion of this material was used for lapidary purposes, and resulted in some of the most beautiful gemstones of this classic combination from any world locality.

Azurite is a naturally occurring mineral found particularly in copper-mining areas of the world. It is often found with malachite, a green basic carbonate of copper. There is evidence that azurite has been used since the dawn of modern civilization, dating all the way back to the Fourth Dynasty in Egypt. Azurite was no doubt the most important blue pigment in European painting from the fifteenth to the middle of the seventeenth century. The paintings of that period of time commonly contain more azurite than natural ultramarine (lapis lazuli). Azurite and malachite have been used as gemstones and paint pigments since ancient times. They are prepared as pigments by careful selection, grinding, washing, and levigation. Coarsely ground azurite gives a deep blue color while finely ground particles give a lighter more transparent tone.