Chrysocolla

$1,100.00

$40.00 shipping
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What appears to be three parallel vertical former Azurite crystals, are vertically aligned and sandwiched face-to-face, so forming a singular looking crystal 4.4 cm tall. The Azurite has undergone two phases of replacement; first to Malachite and then to Chrysocolla. This specimen is from a recent find in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Tenke-Fungurume area delineates a 30 km copper-cobalt mineralised zone between Tenke hill and Fungurume hill in the Kolwezi mining district. Remnants of the bright emerald-green Malachite can be seen in the base and in two much smaller crystals which branch out roughly midway up the main group. In all cases the Malachite is seen to form the core of the Chrysocolla pseudomorphs. Save for where the two small crystals are broken open, the entire outer surface is encrusted with colourless, glassy crystals of transparent Quartz. The optical clarity of the Quartz transmits the vivid and intense sky-blue colour of the Chrysocolla. A gorgeous specimen mounted on a square colourless acrylic base.