Azurite

Unknown Owner

A splendid miniature Azurite of intense deep inky-blue from the Tsumeb mine in Namibia. The overall morphology is that of a single long and narrow tabular Azurite crystal with a few creamy, salmon-pink, rhombohedral Dolomite crystals attached near the base. There is also a small patch of dark leaf-green Malachite, both as sub-millimetre hemispheres and a micro-crystalline coating. The Azurite crystal is complex, with stepped growth faces causing an attractive castellated profile from one side. The Azurite is glassy and at its edges, in transmitted light, gives flashes of deep electric-blue. A terrific example from Tsumeb.