azurite

malachite

A sub-spherical nodule of royal-blue azurite comprising groups of radially arranged elongate crystals, individually to circa 5 mm. The aggregate is slightly iron-stained and traversed by a linear fracture (?) filled with malachite.

The specimen was presented to Charles Palache on 7 April 1922, during Palache’s visit to Tsumeb at the time of the Shaler Memorial Exhibition to South Africa. It is accompanied by a Shaler Expedition label (Exhibit 2) which reads "Azurite ball from clay. Gift of Klein". This habit of azurite was considered rare at Tsumeb until it was encountered in considerable abundance during specimen mining activities, principally on 5 Level, in the 1999-2001 period (Cook et al. 2002).