Azurite

An intensely deep blue copper carbonate. Over time it slowly converts to green malachite, and the two are often found together.

Azurite specimen — Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify azurite

Deep 'azure' blue, often with green malachite.
Fizzes in acid.
Soft — a knife scratches it.
Light blue streak.

Often confused with

Lapis Lazuli
Lapis has gold pyrite flecks, white calcite and doesn't fizz much.
Compare side by side
Sodalite
Sodalite is harder, has white veins and doesn't fizz.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Bisbee, Arizona
Tsumeb, Namibia
Chessy, France
Touissit, Morocco

Uses

Blue pigment in medieval and Renaissance paintings.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Some 'green skies' in old paintings started out blue — the azurite pigment turned into malachite.

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