3.9" Sparkling Azurite Crystal Cluster - Liufengshan Mine, China

About Azurite

Azurite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral best known for its beautiful and vibrant blue appearance. Azurite typically forms in nodular formations with other colorful, copper-rich minerals. It is a secondary mineral that precipitated in pores, crevices, and caverns from water with high concentrations of carbon dioxide.

Azurite and malachite are known to form in union with each other since their chemical makeup is very similar. In fact, the presence of more or less water in the location of formation is enough to determine whether an abundance of malachite over azurite, or vise-versa, will accumulate.

The Liufengshan Mine

Azurite and malachite are two closely related copper minerals that frequently form together, creating some of the most striking natural color combinations found in the mineral world. Because their chemical compositions are so similar, only subtle changes in the environment during formation—especially the amount of water present—can influence which mineral becomes more dominant. Conditions with greater moisture tend to favor the development of malachite, while drier settings allow azurite to accumulate more readily.

Both minerals typically occur in the oxidized zones of copper deposits, which is why they are so strongly associated with copper-rich regions. Their vivid hues—deep blue in azurite and bright green in malachite—are direct results of their copper content, giving them their unmistakable appearance.

This beautiful specimen, featuring azurite and malachite growing together on a copper-rich iron oxide matrix, was collected from the Liufengshan Mine, a locality known for producing vibrant examples of these classic secondary copper minerals.