Cochise College          Photos of Minerals

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                          Roger Weller, geology instructor

                          [email protected]
                                  copyright 2007-R.Weller
 

Mineral Information on:
chalcanthite

Chemical Group:  sulfate

Chemical Formula:  CuSO₄.5H₂O

Color:   Berlin-blue to sky-blue                     Streak:    uncolored

Hardness:   2.5              Specific Gravity:  2.12 to 2.30          Fracture:  conchoidal    

Tenacity:     brittle               Taste:   metallic and nauseous

Transparency:   subtransparent to subtranslucent

Water Soluble

Crystal Forms:  Triclinic system
   Crystals are often flattened.
   Also occurs massive, stalactitic, reniform or fibrous

Mineral Associations:  deposited from mine waters

Identifying Characteristics:

Uses:  Copper ore

Occurrences: 
USA:  Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Tennessee
World-Wide:  Slovakia, Spain, Chile, Bolivia

Toxicity:      when-swallowed-   poisonous             when inhaled-  poisonous

Additional Information:    Chalcanthite is also  known as blue vitriol.