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MAHAVIR GEMS
CHRYSOCOLLA:
It is typically found as glassy botryoidal or rounded masses and crusts, or vein fillings. Because of its light color, it is sometimes confused with turquoise or malachite. Commonly it occurs only as pourous crusts unsuitable for gem use, but high quality, gem grade chrysocolla can be translucent and is highly prized.
It is of secondary origin and forms in the oxidation zones of copper ore bodies. Associated minerals are quartz, limonite, azurite, malachite, cuprite, and other secondary copper minerals.
Chrysocolla has an attractive green to blue-green colour and is a minor ore of copper, having a hardness of 2.5 to 3.5.
Notable occurrences include Israel, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chile, Cornwall in England, and Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Pennsylvania in the United States.
Chrysocolla - Important Characteristics
Category
Chemical formula
Color
Crystal habit
Crystal system
Cleavage
Fracture
Mohs scale hardness
Luster
Streak
Diaphaneity
Specific gravity
Optical properties
Refractive index
Birefringence
Use
- Silicate mineral
- (Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5(OH)4·nH2O
- Blue, blue-green, green
- Massive, nodular, botryoidal
- Orthorhombic
- none
- Brittle to sectile
- 2.5 - 3.5
- Vitreous to dull
- white to a blue-green color
- Translucent to opaque
- 1.9 - 2.4
- Uniaxial (+)
- 1.460 -1.570
- 0.11
- It is used as an ornamental Gemstone
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Name and discovery
The name comes from the Greek chrysos, "gold", and kolla, "glue", in allusion to the name of the material used to solder gold, and was first used by Theophrastus in 315 BCE.
