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Azurite (Photo)

Year of discovery: 1824 (Chessy mine, France), 1888 (Japan)

Locality list: 174 localities of azurite

• Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂
• [Cu²⁺₃][(OH)₂|(CO₃)₂]^6-

• Class: Carbonate - Hydroxide
• Soluble in: boiled Water (Decompose), HCl (with bubbles), HNO₃, H₂SO₄, NH₃aq, concentrated NaHCO₃
• Formed by alteration of Malachite or Teineite.
• Substitution pseudomorph: Replaced by Malachite or Brochantite.
• Azurite is stable at more acidic condition than ambient condition. Azurite alters to malachite at ambient and alkaline condition.

• Color: Blue
• Streak: Pale blue
• Luster: Vitreous
• Diaphaneity: Transparent-Translucent

• Habit: Thin platy, Acicular

• Cleavage: Perfect on {011} (1 plane), Good on {100} (1 plane), Indistinct on {110} (1 plane)
• Hardness: 3.5-4
• Density: 3.8

• System: Monoclinic
• Group: 2/m, P2₁/a
• Lattice: a=5.0, b=5.8, c=10.4, β=92.3

Etymology: Lazward (blue) in Persian