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Aurichalcite



Aurichalcite

General
CategoryCarbonate mineral
Chemical formula(Zn,Cu)5(CO3)2(OH)6
Identification
Colorpale green, greenish blue, sky blue
Crystal habitAcicular to druzy encrustations
Crystal systemMonoclinic-prismatic
Cleavage[010] Perfect
FractureUneven
Mohs Scale hardness2
LusterPearly
Refractive indexnα = 1.655 nβ = 1.740 nγ = 1.744
Optical PropertiesBiaxial (-)
Birefringence0.0890
PleochroismWeak colorless to pale green
StreakLight blue
Specific gravity3.64 - 3.9

Aurichalcite is a carbonate mineral, usually found as a secondary mineral in copper and zinc deposits. Its chemical formula is (Zn,Cu)5(CO3)2(OH)6. The zinc to copper ratio is about 5:2.

Associated minerals include: rosasite, smithsonite, hemimorphite, hydrozincite, malachite and azurite.

It was first described in 1839 by Bottger who named the mineral for its zinc and copper content after the Greek όρειχαλκος, for "mountain brass" or "mountain copper", the name of a fabulous metal.

References

  • Handbook of Mineralogy
  • Mindat
  • Webmineral data 
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Aurichalcite". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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