Chrysocolla ps. after Malachite ps. after Azurite with Quartz

An unusual double pseudomorph of intense sky-blue Chrysocolla replacing Malachite after Azurite and coated in Quartz, displaying hollow epimorphic Chrysocolla shells and rich druses of deep leaf-green Malachite.  This specimen is from a magnificent recent find in the Tenke-Fungurume area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Central Africa.  Covering a matrix of light sky-blue massive earthy Chrysocolla, about eight former tabular Azurite crystals, now pseudomorphed to stunning sky-blue Chrysocolla, project out of an undulating Quartz-covered druse of Malachite micro-crystals, nearly all of which are hollow shell-like structures, with some containing remnant cores of leaf-green Malachite from the intermediate stage of pseudomorph replacement.  The outer surfaces of the Chrysocolla crystals and all the drusy Malachite is coated with sparkling micro-Quartz crystals with a bright glassy lustre.  The Tenke-Fungurume area delineates a 30 km copper-cobalt mineralised zone between Tenke hill in the NW and Fungurume hill in the SE of the Kolwezi mining district.  The region holds large ore reserves and to date a suite of 31 minerals have been recorded, including some exceedingly rare copper species.  A tremendous pseudomorph which clearly shows the paragenesis between Malachite and Chrysocolla, plus the initial phase of Azurite crystallisation evident from the crystal morphology.