Azurite

This specimen is Azurite from the Burra Burra Mine, Burra, South Australia, Australia, measuring 85 x 55 x 60 mm and weighing 416 g. It is drawn from the David Vince Collection. Azurite is a copper carbonate hydroxide valued for its deep, saturated blue colour, forming where copper sulphide ore has weathered in a carbonate-rich environment; it is very frequently found in association with, or altering to, the related green copper carbonate Malachite. The Burra Burra Mine was one of the most significant copper discoveries of colonial South Australia: opened in 1845, it became for a time the largest metal mine in the country and played a formative role in the colony's early economy, with its oxidised zone yielding notable secondary copper minerals including Azurite and Malachite. At 85 x 55 x 60 mm and 416 g, this is a solid cabinet-weight specimen. Azurite is a relatively soft mineral that can slowly alter to Malachite under some conditions, so a stable display environment away from strong light and humidity fluctuation is recommended. The specimen's documented provenance is the David Vince Collection.