Azurite is a soft, deep-blue

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. During the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite, after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The mineral, a basic

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate ...

with the chemical formula Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂, has been known since ancient times, and was mentioned in

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

's '' Natural History'' under the Greek name (κυανός: "deep blue," root of English ''cyan'') and the Latin name ''caeruleum''. Since antiquity, azurite's exceptionally deep and clear blue has been associated with low-humidity desert and winter skies. The modern English name of the mineral reflects this association, since both ''azurite'' and '' azure'' are derived via

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

(لاژورد), an area known for its deposits of another deep-blue stone, lapis lazuli ("stone of azure").

Mineralogy

Azurite has the formula Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂, with the copper(II) cations linked to two different anions,

and

hydroxide Hydroxide is a diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and hydrogen atom held together by a single covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water. I ...

. It is one of two relatively common basic copper(II)

carbonate minerals Carbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion, . Carbonate divisions Anhydrous carbonates *Calcite group: trigonal **Calcite CaCO3 **Gaspéite (Ni,Mg,Fe2+)CO3 **Magnesite MgCO3 **Otavite CdCO3 **Rhodochrosite MnCO3 **Sider ...

, the other being bright green

malachite Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fracture ...

Aurichalcite Aurichalcite is a carbonate mineral, usually found as a secondary mineral in copper and zinc deposits. Its chemical formula is . The zinc to copper ratio is about 5:4. Occurrence Aurichalcite typically occurs in the oxidized zone of copper and z ...

is a rare basic carbonate of copper and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

. Simple copper carbonate (CuCO₃) is not known to exist in nature, due to the high affinity of the ion for the

anion . Azurite crystallizes in the monoclinic system. Large crystals are dark blue, often prismatic. Azurite specimens can be massive to nodular or can occur as

drusy In geology, druse refers to a coating of fine crystals on a rock fracture surface or vein or within a vug or geode. See also * Crystal habit In mineralogy, crystal habit is the characteristic external shape of an individual crystal or crys ...

crystals lining a cavity. Azurite is soft, with a

Mohs hardness The Mohs scale of mineral hardness () is a qualitative ordinal scale, from 1 to 10, characterizing scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material. The scale was introduced in 1812 by t ...

of only 3.5 to 4. The

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its densest ...

of azurite is 3.77. Azurite is destroyed by heat, losing carbon dioxide and water to form black, copper(II) oxide powder. Characteristic of a carbonate, specimens effervesce upon treatment with hydrochloric acid. The combination of deep blue color and effervescence when moistened with hydrochloric acid are identifying characteristics of the mineral.

Color

The optical properties (color, intensity) of minerals such as azurite and malachite are characteristic of copper(II). Many coordination complexes of copper(II) exhibit similar colors. According to crystal field theory, the color results from low energy d-d transitions associated with the d⁹ metal center.

Weathering

Azurite is unstable in open air compared to malachite, and often is

pseudomorph In mineralogy, a pseudomorph is a mineral or mineral compound that appears in an atypical form (crystal system), resulting from a substitution process in which the appearance and dimensions remain constant, but the original mineral is replaced b ...

ically replaced by

. This weathering process involves the replacement of some of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) units with water (H₂O), changing the carbonate:hydroxide ratio of azurite from 1:1 to the 1:2 ratio of malachite: : 2 Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂ + H₂O → 3 Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂ + CO₂ From the above equation, the conversion of azurite into malachite is attributable to the low partial pressure of carbon dioxide in air. Azurite is quite stable under ordinary storage conditions, so that specimens retain their deep blue color for long periods of time.

Occurrences

Azurite is found in the same geologic settings as its sister mineral, malachite, though it is usually less abundant. Both minerals occur widely as supergene copper minerals, formed in the oxidized zone of copper ore deposits. Here they are associated with cuprite,

native copper Native copper is an uncombined form of copper that occurs as a natural mineral. Copper is one of the few metallic elements to occur in native form, although it most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements. Native coppe ...

, and various iron oxide minerals. Fine specimens can be found at many locations. Among the best specimens are found at

Bisbee, Arizona Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,923, down from 5,575 ...

, and nearby locations, and have included clusters of crystals several inches long and spherical aggregates and rosettes up to in diameter. Similar rosettes are found at Chessy, Rhône, France. The best crystals, up to in length, are found at

Tsumeb , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = ''Glück Auf'' (German for ''Good luck'') , image_skyline = Welcome to tsumeb.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. Other notable occurrences are in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

;

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

; the

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econ ...

and Altai Mountains;

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

; Laurion, Greece;

Wallaroo, South Australia Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Corn ...

; and Broken Hill.

Uses

Pigments

Azurite is unstable in air. However it was used as a blue

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

in antiquity. Azurite is naturally occurring in Sinai and the Eastern Desert of Egypt. It was reported by F. C. J. Spurrell (1895) in the following examples; a shell used as a pallet in a

Fourth Dynasty The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other ...

(2613 to 2494 BCE) context in

Meidum Meidum, Maydum or Maidum ( ar, ميدوم, , ) is an archaeological site in Lower Egypt. It contains a large pyramid and several mudbrick mastabas. The pyramid was Egypt's first straight-sided one, but it partially collapsed in ancient times. The ...

, a cloth over the face of a

Fifth Dynasty The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...

(2494 to 2345 BCE) mummy also at

and a number of Eighteenth Dynasty (1543–1292 BCE) wall paintings. Depending on the degree of fineness to which it was ground, and its basic content of copper carbonate, it gave a wide range of blues. It has been known as ''mountain blue'' or ''Armenian stone'', in addition it was formerly known as Azurro Della Magna (from

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

). When mixed with oil it turns slightly green. When mixed with egg yolk it turns green-grey. It is also known by the names '' blue bice'' and ''blue verditer'', though '' verditer'' usually refers to a pigment made by chemical process. Older examples of azurite pigment may show a more greenish tint due to weathering into malachite. Much azurite was mislabeled '' lapis lazuli'', a term applied to many blue pigments. As chemical analysis of paintings from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

improves, azurite is being recognized as a major source of the blues used by medieval painters. Lapis lazuli (the pigment ultramarine) was chiefly supplied from Afghanistan during the Middle Ages, whereas azurite was a common mineral in Europe at the time. Sizable deposits were found near Lyons, France. It was mined since the 12th century in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, in the silver mines located there. Heating can be used to distinguish azurite from purified natural

ultramarine Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afg ...

blue, a more expensive but more stable blue pigment, as described by Cennino D'Andrea Cennini. Ultramarine withstands heat, whereas azurite converts to black copper oxide. However, gentle heating of azurite produces a deep blue pigment used in Japanese painting techniques. Azurite pigment can be synthesized by precipitating copper(II) hydroxide from a solution of

copper(II) chloride Copper(II) chloride is the chemical compound with the chemical formula CuCl2. The anhydrous form is yellowish brown but slowly absorbs moisture to form a blue-green dihydrate. Both the anhydrous and the dihydrate forms occur naturally as the ver ...

with

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

( calcium hydroxide) and treating the precipitate with a concentrated solution of

potassium carbonate Potassium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2 CO3. It is a white salt, which is soluble in water. It is deliquescent, often appearing as a damp or wet solid. Potassium carbonate is mainly used in the production of soap and gl ...

and lime. This pigment is likely to contain traces of basic copper(II) chlorides. File:Azuritepigment.jpg, Ground azurite for use as a pigment File:Lady with a Squirrel.jpg, The background of ''Lady with a Squirrel'' by Hans Holbein the Younger was painted with Azurite File:Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints.jpg, The greenish tint of the Madonna's mantle in

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

's ''Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints'' is due to azurite weathering to malachite

Jewelry

Azurite is used occasionally as beads and as

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

, and also as an ornamental stone. However, its softness and tendency to lose its deep blue color as it weathers leaves it with less uses. Heating destroys azurite easily, so all mounting of azurite specimens must be done at room temperature.

Collecting

The intense color of azurite makes it a popular collector's stone. The notion that specimens must be carefully protected from bright light, heat, and open air to retain their intensity of color over time may be an

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

. Paul E. Desautels, former curator of gems and minerals at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, has written that azurite is stable under ordinary storage conditions.

Prospecting

While not a major ore of copper itself, the presence of azurite is a good surface indicator of the presence of weathered

copper sulfide Copper sulfides describe a family of chemical compounds and minerals with the formula CuxSy. Both minerals and synthetic materials comprise these compounds. Some copper sulfides are economically important ores. Prominent copper sulfide mineral ...

ores. It is usually found in association with the chemically similar malachite, producing a striking color combination of deep blue and bright green that is strongly indicative of the presence of copper ores.

History

Azurite was known in the pre-classical

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

. It was used in ancient Egypt as a pigment, obtained from mines in Sinai.

Ancient Mesopotamia The history of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing i ...

n writers report the use of a special

mortar and pestle Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The ''mortar'' ( ...

for grinding it. It does not appear to have been used in ancient Roman wall paintings but Roman writers certainly knew about its use as a pigment. The fusing of glass and azurite was developed in ancient Mesopotamia.Emmerich Paszthory, "Electricity generation or magic? The analysis of an unusual group of finds from Mesopotamia", p. 34 in, Stuart J. Fleming, Helen R. Schenck, ''History of Technology: The Role of Metals'', University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1989 . The use of azurite and malachite as copper ore indicators led indirectly to the name of the element

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

in the English language.

Nickeline Nickeline or niccolite is a mineral consisting primarily of nickel arsenide (NiAs). The naturally-occurring mineral contains roughly 43.9% nickel and 56.1% arsenic by mass, but composition of the mineral may vary slightly. Small quantities of ...

, a principal ore of nickel that is also known as niccolite, weathers at the surface into a green mineral ( annabergite) that resembles malachite. This resemblance resulted in occasional attempts to smelt nickeline in the belief that it was copper ore, but such attempts always ended in failure due to high smelting temperatures needed to reduce nickel. In Germany this deceptive mineral came to be known as ''kupfernickel'', literally "copper demon." The

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

alchemist Baron

Axel Fredrik Cronstedt Baron Axel Fredrik Cronstedt (''/kroonstet/'' 23 December 1722 – 19 August 1765) was a Swedish mineralogist and chemist who discovered the element nickel in 1751 as a mining expert with the Bureau of Mines. Cronstedt is considered a founder ...

(who had been trained by Georg Brandt, the discoverer of the nickel-like metal

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...

) realized that there was probably a new metal hiding within the kupfernickel ore, and in 1751 he succeeded in smelting kupfernickel to produce a previously unknown (except in certain meteorites) silvery white, iron-like metal. Logically, Cronstedt named his new metal after the ''nickel'' part of ''kupfernickel''.

Gallery of azurite mineral specimens

Azurite from China.jpg, Azurite crystals from China File:Azurite from Arizona, collected by Dr John Hunter in the 18th century, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.jpg, Azurite from Arizona, collected by Dr John Hunter in the 18th century, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow File:Mineraly.sk - azurit.jpg, Fresh, unweathered azurite crystals showing the deep blue of unaltered azurite. From Špania Dolina,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

File:Azurite with Malachite - National Museum of Natural History - Washington, D.C..jpg, Azurite with Malachite, Copper Queen mine,

File:Azurite-23164.jpg, Azurite from Touissit, Morocco File:Azurite-284714.jpg, Azurite,

Morenci, Arizona Morenci is a census-designated place (CDP) and company town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States, and was founded by the Detroit Copper Mining Company of Arizona. The population was 2000 at the 2000 census and 1,489 at the 2010 census. ...

File:Azurite in siltstone, Malbunka mine NT.jpg, Azurite in siltstone, Malbunka mine,

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

, Australia File:Azurite-den07-03b.jpg, Azurite from

Tsumeb , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = ''Glück Auf'' (German for ''Good luck'') , image_skyline = Welcome to tsumeb.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag ...

, Namibia File:Azurite Bisbee ROM.jpg, Azurite, cross-section through merged stalactites,

File:Sparkly Azurite Crystal 01.jpg, Azurite crystal, from the minerals' collection at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

. File:Azurite spheroids.jpg, Spheroidal azurite specimens from

References

External links

*
Azurite
Colourlex {{Authority control Carbonate minerals Copper ores Gemstones Inorganic pigments Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 14