Azurite with Malachite

specimen number:
2242105

location:
Morenci Mine, Greenlee Co., Arizona, USA

description:
A lustrous blue rosette of azurite crystals to .7 cm in size set nicely up on a green botryoidal malachite coated matrix. In great condition. Very choice for this classic locality.

Morenci, Arizona, situated in the Copper Mountain District of Greenlee County, is home to one of the largest and most productive copper mines in North America. Geologically, the deposit is a massive porphyry copper system where late Cretaceous to early Tertiary igneous rocks intruded into older sedimentary and Precambrian basement rocks, creating extensive zones of mineralization. The ore body is characterized by a significant supergene enrichment blanket, where primary copper sulfides were oxidized and redeposited as high-grade chalcocite and various secondary minerals such as malachite and azurite. Historically, mining and quarrying in the Morenci area began in the early 1870s following the discovery of copper by scouting parties, leading to the establishment of the Detroit Copper Mining Company and the Longfellow Mine. The operation transitioned from underground mining to large-scale open-pit methods in 1937 to extract lower-grade ores more efficiently. Under the long-term management of Phelps Dodge and subsequently Freeport-McMoRan, the Morenci Mine has remained in continuous operation for over 150 years, and it continues to be a global leader in copper production and leaching technology through 2026.

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