Azurite with Malachite

Deep azure to sapphire blue Azurite forms an almost continuous drusy layer over an approximately 24 x 12 cm matrix of iron-stained Calcite from Špania Dolina in Banská Bystrica County, Slovakia. This ancient locality exploited several copper deposits in the Carpathian Mountains with evidence indicating mining activity dating back for over 1,000 years. On this large cabinet specimen the Azurite covers a thin layer of bluish-green Malachite which, where the Azurite allows, forms botryoidal patches and green rims outlining areas of exposed matrix. The structure of the majority of the Azurite takes on a botryoidal, undulating surface with rounded domes of just a few millimetres in diameter. The Azurite comprises of fibrous, micro-acicular crystals which give its surface a matt lustre. This is a magnificent large display specimen of Azurite with Malachite from historic Špania Dolina, Slovakia.