CERULEITE

SPECIMEN DESCRIPTION

Ceruleite is an extremely rare copper aluminium arsenate hydroxide hydrate. First described in 1900 from Chile, the country with the most confirmed occurrences is England, and all of those are within the county of Cornwall. Some of the best crystallized specimens were found at the legendary Wheal Gorland mine, but remarkably not when the other famous copper arsenates were found in the late 1700s, but much later (in the 1970s) in the dumps. This very rich miniature specimen reveals the classic sky-blue colour and velvety texture of the Ceruleite where it lines cavities within iron-stained Quartz veinstone. Ex Malcolm Southwood collection, no. MS 1992.054.