Azurite

[Wwoofa]

Hi,
This month's "Gem of the Month" is .... Azurite.

Feel free to add more info & pics. If anyone has any questions about Azurite then this is a good place to post them.

You might like to change your "Gem of the Month" votes now that this one has been covered.

General Information:
Azurite is named after the Persian word "lazhward", for its characteristic blue colour.  It occurs in the weathered zone of copper ore-bodies usually in association with Malachite.  Azurite is less stable in open air than Malachite, and is often pseudomorphically replaced by it.  Or they can form together as azurmalachite.

Azurite is famous for its superb colour and interesting forms. It was formerly used for azure pigment. It can be cut into cabochons, faceted into gems and used for ornamental objects.

Here are a few useful links that should cover all of the main information.

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azurite
Mindat - http://www.mindat.org/min-447.html
Gemdat - http://www.gemdat.org/gem-447.html
Minerals.Net - http://www.minerals.net/mineral/Azurite.aspx

Here's some excellent info/pics about Australian "Azurite Suns" ...
http://www.treasuremountainmining.com/servlet/the-template/articles/Page?article=azuriteSun

Here's more excellent pics of Azurite from various locations ...
http://www.mindat.org/mesg-66-115319.html

Fossicking Locations:
Azurite is found in some quantity in most copper mines, where it occurs in the "zone of weathering".  For example, Mineral Hill, Girilambone, Cobar (NSW), Mt Isa, Cloncurry (QLD) etc.  In most locations you need permission from the mine operators to collect mineral specimens.

As an example, here's some info on Mineral Hill ... there are many sites like this one throughout Australia including some in the Torrington/Emmaville area.

NSW - Mineral Hill
Mineral Hill in Central NSW has produced excellent Azurite specimens for several decades.  To fossick on the mine dumps you need permission from the mine owners.

Some more info & pics can be found here ...
http://www.kblmining.com.au/projects/mineral-hill/

http://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?loc=76

[Jamo]

Azurite found also down here in Gippsland at the disused copper mine at Coopers Creek. Some nice specimens of chrysocola & malachite (not gem quality) can also be found here.

[mick B]

Azurite is the reason I first gained any interest in lapidary, I found a small copper deposit on my property back in 2005, amazing the color that comes out of copper based gems.

[starsapphire78]

Very nice

[Plutonium]

Another very good site for finding Azurite is Mt Hope.
There's a lot of crown land and open space around the old town and lots of Azurite and Malachite can be found just laying on the surface.

Another place where I have seen it (on private property) is on the ridge to the south of Lewis Ponds 10km NE of Lucknow.
There is a quartz seam which runs north south under the ridge. Vertical shafts were sunk into the seam looking for gold and the tailings are full of copper minerals.

One of the interesting things I discovered about Azurite is that it fluoresces under UV light.
Not the short or long wave black lights that your average glowing mineral collector has.
Azurite glows purple under short wave UVC light like germicidal clear UV tubes.
This short wave UV is dangerous so it's not something you want to leave on all the time or expose your eyes to, even reflected UV light. Viewing minerals exposed to it is best done through ordinary glass which blocks UV light.