PARCEL

AZURITE BALL SPECIMEN.

This is a natural untreated specimen from Arizona.This specimen has formed in round clusters and are nick named 'balls"The photos have been taken dry.

Weight 42.03 cts app

Size 23 x 14 x 12 mm app

Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. It is also known as Chessylite after the Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France, where striking specimens have been found. The mineral has been known since ancient times. The blue of azurite is exceptionally deep and clear, and for that reason the mineral has tended to be associated since antiquity with the deep blue color of low-humidity desert and winter skies. 

Azurite owes its name to its azure-blue color. It usually occurs with green Malachite, which may form green stains or specks on Azurite crystals or aggregates. The two minerals sometimes occur admixed or banded together, forming what is called "Azure-malachite" in the gem and mineral trades. A rarer Azurite mixture, known as "Bluebird", is Azurite mixed with dark red Cuprite. Azurite, "Azure-malachite", and "Bluebird" all have gem uses.

In some localities, the Azurite undergoes a chemical change and loses some hydroxyl, altering the Azurite to Malachite, retaining the crystal shape of the original Azurite. Sometimes, only part of the Azurite is altered to Malachite, while the other part remains as Azurite. Such specimens are green on one end and blue on the other.