Azurite

Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. In the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France. The mineral, a carbonate with the chemical formula Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2, has been known since ancient times, and was mentioned in Pliny the Elder's Natural History under the Greek name kuanos (κυανός: 'deep blue,' root of English cyan) and the Latin name caeruleum. 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. The modern English name of the mineral reflects this association, since both azurite and azure are derived via Arabic from the Persian lazhward (لاژورد), an area known for its deposits of another deep blue stone, lapis lazuli ('stone of azure').Fresh, unweathered azurite crystals showing the deep blue of unaltered azurite. From Špania Dolina, SlovakiaAzurite with Malachite, Copper Queen mine, Bisbee, ArizonaAzurite from Touissit, MoroccoAzurite, Morenci, ArizonaAzurite in siltstone, Malbunka mine, Northern Territory, AustraliaAzurite from Tsumeb, NamibiaAzurite, cross-section through merged stalactites, Bisbee, ArizonaAzurite crystal, from the minerals' collection at the Natural History Museum, London.Spheroidal azurite specimens from Utah Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. In the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France. The mineral, a carbonate with the chemical formula Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2, has been known since ancient times, and was mentioned in Pliny the Elder's Natural History under the Greek name kuanos (κυανός: 'deep blue,' root of English cyan) and the Latin name caeruleum. 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. The modern English name of the mineral reflects this association, since both azurite and azure are derived via Arabic from the Persian lazhward (لاژورد), an area known for its deposits of another deep blue stone, lapis lazuli ('stone of azure'). Azurite is one of the two basic copper(II) carbonate minerals, the other being bright green malachite. Simple copper carbonate (CuCO3) is not known to exist in nature. Azurite has the formula Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2, with the copper(II) cations linked to two different anions, carbonate and hydroxide. Small crystals of azurite can be produced by rapidly stirring a few drops of copper sulfate solution into a saturated solution of sodium carbonate and allowing the solution to stand overnight. Azurite crystals are monoclinic. Large crystals are dark blue, often prismatic. Azurite specimens can be massive to nodular. They are often stalactitic in form. Specimens tend to lighten in color over time due to weathering of the specimen surface into malachite. Azurite is soft, with a Mohs hardness of only 3.5 to 4. The specific gravity of azurite is 3.77 to 3.89. Azurite is destroyed by heat, losing carbon dioxide and water to form black, copper(II) oxide powder. Characteristic of a carbonate, specimens effervesce upon treatment with hydrochloric acid. The optical properties (color, intensity) of minerals such as azurite and malachite are characteristic of copper(II). Many coordination complexes of copper(II) exhibit similar colors. As explained within the context of ligand field theory, the colors result from low energy d-d transitions associated with the d9 metal center. Azurite is unstable in open air compared to malachite, and often is pseudomorphically replaced by malachite. This weathering process involves the replacement of some of the carbon dioxide (CO2) units with water (H2O), changing the carbonate:hydroxide ratio of azurite from 1:1 to the 1:2 ratio of malachite: