Atacamite

This micromount features a striking cluster of vivid emerald-green atacamite crystals, growing in a small cavity lined with dark iron oxides and pale secondary alteration products. The crystals are sharply formed, prismatic and well terminated, arranged as a compact bouquet around a slightly larger central individual.

Atacamite, a basic copper chloride, is a characteristic mineral of oxidation zones in arid environments, where the weathering of copper sulphides in the presence of chloride-rich solutions promotes the growth of intensely coloured secondary copper minerals. The Los Azules district in Chile is well known for producing highly aesthetic and fresh atacamite specimens, prized by micromineral collectors worldwide.

The strong contrast between the reddish-brown ferruginous matrix, the whitish alteration crusts, and the glassy, translucent green crystals greatly enhances the visual impact of the specimen. The sharp edges and partial transparency indicate rapid yet well-ordered supergene crystallization under copper- and chlorine-rich conditions.

With its saturated colour, excellent crystal definition and classic Atacama Desert provenance.

In a box 2.8x2.8cm, labelled

FoV : 2.2mm