Chrysocolla ps. after Malachite ps. after Azurite with Quartz

Two parallel vertical former Azurite crystals, approximately 4 and 3.5 cm tall, have undergone two phases of replacement; first to Malachite and then to Chrysocolla.  Remnants of the Malachite stage can be seen in the base and form the core of the Chrysocolla pseudomorphs.  The entire outer surface is encrusted with colourless, glassy crystals of transparent Quartz, that perfectly transmit the vivid and intense sky-blue colour of the Chrysocolla.  This specimen is from a recent find in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Tenke-Fungurume area delineates a 30 km copper-cobalt mineralised zone between Tenke hill and Fungurume hill in the Kolwezi mining district.  On this specimen some of the Quartz crystals have developed a little large than is typically observed at this locality and the shorter of the two pseudomorphs is capped with a hedgehog-like cluster of radiating Quartz crystals.  An excellent and aesthetic specimen displayed to full advantage on a square colourless acrylic base.