Chrysocolla & Quartz

The Julcani Mining District of Peru sits atop a mineralogically rich volcanic complex that has yielded silver, copper, gold, and other materials since the 1940s. While silver remains the primary export from this region, collectors prize it equally for striking mineral specimens like this chrysocolla and quartz combination from the Tentadora Mine. Chrysocolla forms as a weathering product of copper-bearing minerals and frequently occurs alongside quartz and other copper oxides in these oxidized zones. This exquisite specimen presents a prismatic quartz crystal whose faces are decorated with scattered botryoidal chrysocolla formations in shades ranging from powder blue to rich turquoise. The chrysocolla appears in multiple growth stages, with a thin partial coating along the quartz surface, as well as numerous small, rounded bubbles and clusters that perch along the crystal's edges and surfaces.