Linarite
Linarite is said to be highly regarded by mineral collectors even though many may not realize they even have it! is is due to its striking similarity to the much more common, better-known and related copper mineral of azurite. Linarite is an alkaline sulfate of lead and copper that grows deep blue crystals similar to azurite. Both linarite and azurite leave blue streaks on a streak plate and both grow crystals that may be bladelike or tabular. However, while linarite crystals may be similar in appearance to azurite, they tend to be much smaller but more lustrous and intense in their blue hue. e luster varies from glassy to adamantine. It is also so er than azurite at 2.5 Mohs hardness versus 3.5 to 4 for azurite.
Like azurite, linarite formed in secondary or weathered zones of other mineral deposits. With linarite, those deposits include copper and lead ores. In particular, it forms from the oxidation of such minerals as galena, chalcopyrite, and copper sul des.
Many minerals are named for a “type” locality, or the locality from which the mineral was originally described in the scienti c literature. Linarite is no exception. It was named in 1839 by Ernst Friedrich Glocker for the Linares Plateau in the Andalusia region of Spain. It also is found in Great Britain in the regions of Cornwall and Scotland’s Leadhills, as well as in Germany, Siberia, Chile, Argentina, Morocco, and Namibia. Within the U.S., localities include Bingham, New Mexico; Tiger and Bisbee, Arizona; Tintic, Utah; Eureka, Nevada; and Cerro Gordo, California. Check out your own collection.
at specimen labeled “azurite” may, in fact, be linarite!