Brochantite, 79 Mine, Arizona

My friends know that I am a sucker for delicate, fibrous minerals like zeolites from India, "hay-like" rutile from Brazil and, of course, brochantite. Recently we have all been spoiled by the ridiculously-beautiful brochantites that have come from Milpillas, Mexico but we occasionally come across some classics from elsewhere. This piece, like Milpillas, also hails from the Sonoran Desert. It shows emerald-green spays of brochantite needles richly spread across vuggy gossan matrix. The red-brown colour of the matrix contrasts very nicely with the green brochantite. There is amble coverage of brochantite on all sides of the specimen which hails from the Garry Kolodinsky collection of Victoria, British Columbia. Brochantite is very delicate and several sprays show evidence of abrasion (damage) on the short needles.  From 79 Mine, Chiltio, Hayden area, Gila County, Arizona. Dimensions: 6.5 cm x 8.5 cm