Euchroite is a hydrated copper arsenate hydroxide mineral with formula: Cu2AsO4OH·3H2O. It is a vitreous green to emerald green mineral crystallizing in the orthorhombic system. It was Named in reference to its beautiful emerald green color after the Greek words eu, used as a prefix to mean “fair” or “good,” and, chroma, meaning “color.
It is a very rare mineral in the oxidized zone of some copper-bearing hydrothermal mineral deposits.
General Information
- Category: Arsenate minerals
- Formula: Cu2AsO4OH·3H2O
- Crystal system: Orthorhombic
- Crystal class: Disphenoidal (222)
Properties
It has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 – 4.0 and a specific gravity of 3.39 – 3.45. It was first described in 1823 in Ľubietová, Slovakia.
- Color: Leek green, Emerald green.
- Density: 3.39 – 3.45, Average = 3.42
- Diaphaneity: Transparent to translucent
- Hardness: 3.5-4 – Copper Penny-Fluorite
- Luminescence: Non-fluorescent.
- Luster: Vitreous (Glassy)
- Streak: green
Occurrence
Euchroite is a rare mineral that can be found in localities in Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, the United States, and others and occurs in oxidized copper-bearing hydrothermal deposits.
Association: Olivenite (Lubietov´a, Slovakia); strashimirite, olivenite, azurite, malachite (Zapachitsa deposit, Bulgaria).
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