Information about Conichalcite

Conichalcite is a bright, vibrant green to yellow-green arsenate mineral that typically forms in botryoidal, granular, or encrusting masses, though it occasionally appears as tiny prismatic or acicular crystals

Uses and History

Conichalcite is primarily a collectors mineral, due to its bright green colour and interesting, attractive crystals. It is rarely used as an ore of copper, but may be in some cases.

Named in 1849 from the Greek words ‘konis’ (powder) and ‘chalkos’ (copper) due to its composition.

It was originally discovered in Don Bonete mine, Andalusia, Spain.

Mineralogy

Hazards and Warnings

Toxic mineral, contains arsenic.

Mineral collectors should wash their hands after handling specimens, to avoid any exposure to potential toxins.

Almost all rocks, minerals (and, frankly, almost all other substances on earth) can produce toxic dust when cutting, which can cause serious respiratory conditions including silicosis.

When cutting or polishing rocks, minerals, shells, etc, all work should be done wet to minimise the dust, and a suitable respirator or extraction system should be used.

Translations

Further Reading / External Links

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conichalcite
• https://www.mindat.org/min-1119.html
• http://webmineral.com/data/Conichalcite.shtml
• https://handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/conichalcite.pdf