Large crystals are dark blue, often prismatic. Simple copper carbonate (CuCO 3) is not known to exist in nature, due to the high affinity of the Cu 2+Īzurite crystallizes in the monoclinic system. Aurichalcite is a rare basic carbonate of copper and zinc. It is one of two relatively common basic copper(II) carbonate minerals, the other being bright green malachite. Color code: red = O, green = Cu, gray = C, white = H)Īzurite has the formula Cu 3(CO 3) 2(OH) 2, with the copper(II) cations linked to two different anions, carbonate and hydroxide. The modern English name of the mineral reflects this association, since both azurite and azure are derived via Arabic from the Persian lazhward (لاژورد), an area known for its deposits of another deep-blue stone, lapis lazuli ("stone of azure").Ĭhemical structure of azurite. Since antiquity, azurite's exceptionally deep and clear blue has been associated with low-humidity desert and winter skies. The mineral, a basic carbonate with the chemical formula Cu 3(CO 3) 2(OH) 2, has been known since ancient times, and was mentioned in Pliny the Elder's Natural History under the Greek name kuanos (κυανός: "deep blue," root of English cyan) and the Latin name caeruleum.
During the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite, after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France. Rare, twin planes Īzurite is a soft, deep-blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. Azure-blue, dark to pale blue pale blue in transmitted light
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