Milpillas Mine
31.1122° N, 110.4336° W · ± 1 km
Azurite from Sonora, Mexico, with photos of specimens from this locality.
Minerals found here
Azurite at Milpillas Mine
Dark, highly lustrous blue crystals, often partly coated with silky malachite balls.
- Formula
- Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂
- Morphology
- Thick lenticular crystals with sharp faces, aerial aggregates
- Typical size
- Crystals usually 2.5-5 cm, sometimes to about 10 cm
- Color / luster
- Vivid dark blue ('electric blue'), high luster
- Associated minerals
- Malachite
- History
- Source of well-crystallized specimens from about the early 2000s after rising copper prices reopened old mines; a specimen was collected in 2013
Geology of the locality
- Setting
- Copper deposit with well-crystallized secondary copper minerals in the oxidized zone.
- Region
- Sonora
- Country
- Mexico
Mindat wording: Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora. Coordinates not yet sourced (no coordinate source could be opened in this run); fill before mapping. Coordinates: Mindat point for Milpillas Mine (31 06 44 N, 110 26 01 W), Santa Cruz Municipality, Sonora. Coordinates: Mindat point for Milpillas Mine (31 06 44 N, 110 26 01 W), Santa Cruz Municipality, Sonora. Coordinates: Mindat point for Milpillas Mine (31 06 44 N, 110 26 01 W), Santa Cruz Municipality, Sonora.
Sources
- SRC-233 · Article
Azurite Through the Ages: Millennia of Mining Have Not Depleted Its Sources (abstract, Spring 2013)Gems & Gemology (GIA) · 2013 · Gemological Institute of America - SRC-235 · Website
Azurite and malachiteU.S. Geological Survey · 2016 · USGS media gallery - SRC-236 · Database
Azurite, Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Sonora (photo record)Mindat.org photo record RA7-AEY · Mindat.org - SRC-296 · Website
Milpillas Mine, Santa Cruz Municipality, Sonora - Mindat
Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.