Good Ole’ Azurite

Oliver Trevisick

Physical Geology Lab 1110L
Section 4

Out of the twenty-four minerals that we have studied over the past weeks, I had one mineral on my mind that I wanted to take a deeper look into, and that is azurite. Just from being around friends with numerous different crystals, minerals, and gemstones I was always attracted azurite and was interested where it comes from. The blue color of it always caught my eye and just seemed so mysterious looking compared to the other minerals. Azurite is formed in a couple different ways and is mined in different places all around the globe, with it being relatively abundant it has made its self useful in certain social and economic situations. The formation of azurite starts out with the oxidation of copper, thus forming the carbonate azurite. When this process happens under different conditions, such as pressure, heat, and occurrence of water, it can change its formation and alter the properties of the mineral. as azurite is underground it will slowly absorb water around it and with time will create small deposits of malachite. Azurite is usually found as a blue cluster with small green pieces of malachite in it, which can differ depending on how long the azurite was exposed to water. Even though azurite is a beautiful mineral it is still a soft mineral at that. With azurite being a soft copper carbonate mineral it registers on the Moh’s hardness scale as a 3.5-4.0, allowing it to be weathered easily. This weathering that occurs has a great affect on the shade of blue that the azurite will have. Azurite has been found in mines all around the world, even here in the United States. It is usually found in copper mines located in Australia, Chile, China, Africa, and some parts of Russia. Along with those foreign copper mines, azurite has been mined out of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, and a few mines south of the border in Mexico. The more famous mines are here in the U.S. though, such as mines in La Sal, Utah, Brisbee, Arizona, and Grant Count, New Mexico. These mines here in America are very renowned for the incredible quality of azurite that they produce. With the mines that produce the higher quality of azurite, they are usually closed and privately owned and are now places where you can go and see the mines where these beautiful azurite specimens were mined. One of the first uses of azurite, centuries ago, was pigment for artists, and the older paintings that have been preserved that originally had blue skies now have a strange green shade due to the oxidation of the azurite over time. Besides painting azurite was also used for early make-up applications, such as eye shadow, science has now found other minerals for make-up besides azurite because the azurite would change colors, making the make-up look discolored. In the present azurite now has made its mark as a mineral worthy of being put on display during art and antique expo’s. Along with the azurite specimens alone having an importance in society their largest contribution to our society and economy is in the use of azurite in beads and jewelry. Some pieces of jewelry containing high quality azurite can be worth thousands of dollars, while there is still jewelry made with lower quality azurite that isn't as expensive that can be worn by the average person. Besides jewelry, azurite clusters will start to weather and expose copper deposits which can then be used where ever copper is necessary With azurite’s economic value it holds its place in certain parts of society as a mineral that has the energy to guide your decision making and well-being in the right direction, and is commonly used in meditation and healing ceremonies. Azurite has been used and examined for centuries now and I’m sure that as time goes on azurite will continue to be used in different products, processes and ceremonies.

Work Cited

"Azurite." : Mineral Information and Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http:// www.mindat.org/min-447.html>.
"Azurite Mine, Goodsprings Mining District, NV." Azurite Mine, Goodsprings Mining District, NV. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://silverstateghosttowns.com/azuritemine.html>.
Taraporewala, Azmin. "Azurite Uses." Buzzle. Buzzle.com, 06 June 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/azurite-uses.html>.