Reviews
1.9" Blue-Green Botryoidal Chrysocolla - Planet Mine, Arizona
This is a 1.9" wide cluster of botryoidal chrysocolla from Arizona's Planet Mine. It is a truly cosmic specimen, displaying gorgeous shades of blue, green, and teal in spherical formations.
More About Planet Mine and its Mineral Deposits
The Planet Mine, located in the Buckskin Mountains of La Paz County, Arizona, is a historic mining property discovered in 1863 and developed as one of the principal producers in the Planet (Santa Maria) Mining District. It operated primarily as an underground mine extracting copper and iron, with additional production of silver, gold, and silica. The mine was part of a broader mining boom in the region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eventually becoming one of the more productive copper operations in Arizona, with millions of pounds of copper produced. Activity at the site continued intermittently into the early 20th century before ceasing, and today the area remains a well-known historic locality with visible remnants such as old workings and foundations.
The Planet Mine is especially noted among mineral collectors for its secondary copper minerals, particularly chrysocolla, which commonly occurs as blue to green botryoidal coatings on iron-rich or siliceous matrix. Chrysocolla from this locality is valued for its vivid coloration and attractive forms. Chemically, chrysocolla is a hydrated copper silicate with a variable composition, often with substitutions of aluminum and varying water content. It typically forms in the oxidation zones of copper deposits, explaining its abundance at Planet Mine, where weathering of primary copper minerals produced richly colored secondary assemblages including chrysocolla, malachite, and other oxidized species.
General Chemical Formula - Cu₂₋ₓAlₓ(H₂₋ₓSi₂O₅)(OH)₄·nH₂O
The Planet Mine, located in the Buckskin Mountains of La Paz County, Arizona, is a historic mining property discovered in 1863 and developed as one of the principal producers in the Planet (Santa Maria) Mining District. It operated primarily as an underground mine extracting copper and iron, with additional production of silver, gold, and silica. The mine was part of a broader mining boom in the region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eventually becoming one of the more productive copper operations in Arizona, with millions of pounds of copper produced. Activity at the site continued intermittently into the early 20th century before ceasing, and today the area remains a well-known historic locality with visible remnants such as old workings and foundations.
The Planet Mine is especially noted among mineral collectors for its secondary copper minerals, particularly chrysocolla, which commonly occurs as blue to green botryoidal coatings on iron-rich or siliceous matrix. Chrysocolla from this locality is valued for its vivid coloration and attractive forms. Chemically, chrysocolla is a hydrated copper silicate with a variable composition, often with substitutions of aluminum and varying water content. It typically forms in the oxidation zones of copper deposits, explaining its abundance at Planet Mine, where weathering of primary copper minerals produced richly colored secondary assemblages including chrysocolla, malachite, and other oxidized species.
General Chemical Formula - Cu₂₋ₓAlₓ(H₂₋ₓSi₂O₅)(OH)₄·nH₂O
$35
SPECIES
Chrysocolla
LOCATION
Planet Mine, La Paz County, Arizona
SIZE
1.9 x 1.5"
CATEGORY
ITEM
#358226
