Aurichalcite with Chrysocolla

Aurichalcite with Chrysocolla from Southwest Mine, Bisbee, Arizona, USA, measuring 48 × 44 × 27 mm and weighing 26 grams. The specimen shows delicate blue-green mineral development distributed over an uneven matrix. The association gives this small specimen considerable interest, bringing together two minerals connected with the alteration of copper-bearing material.

Aurichalcite is a copper-zinc carbonate hydroxide, while Chrysocolla is a hydrated copper silicate material. The presence of zinc in Aurichalcite adds a useful chemical distinction from many better-known copper minerals. The pairing therefore opens a small window onto the variety of secondary compounds that can develop in a mineralised environment as fluids interact with the available metals and surrounding rock.

Southwest Mine is the specific Bisbee working recorded for this piece. That detail makes it more informative within an Arizona collection than a district-only attribution. At under 50 mm in its longest dimension, the specimen rewards a close view, and the photographs help convey the fine-scale character of the mineral surfaces without losing the overall matrix context. This example comes from the David Vince Collection. Its appeal is in the combination of delicate-looking surface detail, contrasting mineral chemistry and a defined Bisbee locality. For a collector who enjoys examining the smaller features of a specimen, it provides a compact subject with more than one mineral identity to explore and a documented collection history to accompany it.