brochantite

Brochantite is a sulfate mineral, one of a number of cupric sulfates. Its chemical formula is Cu4SO4(OH)6. Formed in arid climates or in rapidly oxidizing copper sulfide deposits, it was named by Armand Lévy for his fellow Frenchman, geologist and mineralogist A. J. M. Brochant de Villiers.

Key facts

Mineral.name: Brochantite
Mineral.category: Sulfate minerals
Mineral.image: Brochantite-74903.jpg
Mineral.formula: Cu4SO4(OH)6
Mineral.IMAsymbol: Bct
Mineral.strunz: 7.BB.25
Mineral.system: Monoclinic
Mineral.class: Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol)
Mineral.symmetry: P21/a
Mineral.color: Green, emerald green, or black
Mineral.habit: Prismatic crystals; acicular needle-like crystals; druse
Mineral.cleavage: Perfect [100]
Mineral.fracture: Conchoidal
Mineral.tenacity: brittle
Mineral.mohs: 3.5–4.0
Mineral.luster: Vitreous to pearly
Mineral.refractive: nα = 1.728 nβ = 1.771 nγ = 1.800
Mineral.opticalprop: Biaxial (−)

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Wikidata facts

Image: Brochantite from Goulmima, Errachidia Province, Morocco.jpg

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Nickel-Strunz 9th edition (updated 2009): 7.BB.25
Nickel-Strunz '10th ed', review of (9th ed/ 2009 update): 7.BB.25
IMA Mineral Symbol: Bct
Strunz 8th edition (series ID, updated): VI/B.01
Commons category: Brochantite
chemical formula: Cu₄SO₄(OH)₆

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Crystals of brochantite can range from emerald green to black-green to blue-green, and can be acicular or prismatic. Brochantite is often associated with minerals such as malachite, azurite, and chrysocolla, and may form pseudomorphs with these minerals.