Chrysocolla from Inspiration Mine, Inspiration Mine area, Arizona, USA

$250.00

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A thick slab through a massive quartz rich throughout bluish green chrysocolla. Polished on one side. There is a small thin narrow open cavity on one end of this piece lined with micro crystals of quartz. Classic for this locality. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark. Located in the Globe-Miami mining district of Gila County, Arizona, the Inspiration Mine developed within a major porphyry copper system where hydrothermal solutions altered Precambrian Pinal Schist and intrusive Tertiary granite rocks. Initial copper claims were consolidated in the early 1900s, leading to the formation of the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company, which launched large-scale mining operations in 1915. Originally worked as an underground mine before transitioning to extensive open-pit extraction, the site became famous for implementing pioneering metallurgical technologies like flotation and leaching processes. In addition to commercial copper and molybdenum production, the deposit earned strong interest among mineral collectors for producing world-class specimens of secondary copper minerals, notably bright blue chrysocolla, malachite, and azurite.