several Copper Queen Mine caves, Bisbee, Arizona, USA
Speleothems: crystals (sparkled over the malachite wall crusts)
Frequency: Rare
Other geologic settings: in the oxidized zones of copper deposits associated with carbonate rocks
Other occurrence: wall crusts (composed of 1cm long, drusy crystal masses) (Lilburn Cave, California, USA) a crust (10cm wide, 1 cm thick), grown over corroded calcite flowstone (Kreiselhalle-Malachitdom Cave, Germany) boxwork blades (up to 15mm long) on cave walls and corroded flowstones (Kreiselhalle-Malachitdom Cave, Germany) small, sparkling crystals (small caves in Tuscany, Italy)
First description of cave occurrence: Ransome, R.L. 1904. Geology and ore deposits of Bisbee Quadrangle, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 21, 168 pp
First description of non-cave occurrence: Beudant, F.S. 1832. Azurite. Traité Élémentaire de Minéralogie (2nd Edition Paris): 373-374
Other cave locations & References: Laichinger Tiefenhöhle, Germany Kreiselhalle-Malachitdom Cave, Germany small caves in Tuscany, Italy Lilburn Cave, California, USA a cave in England - Cabrol, P. (pers. comm.) in Hill, C.S. & Forti, P. 1997. Cave Minerals of the World (2nd. ed.). National Speleological Society, Huntsville AL, 464pp Cueva Cantera de Baruta, Venezuela
Devonian-Carboniferous limestone
the caves formed due to the complete, near-surface oxidation of the sulfide replacement deposits in several limestone formations; because of this, oxidation caves occurred above large bodies of thoroughly oxidized copper ore
Group: Carbonates
Chemical formula: Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2
[According to the official IMA-CNMNC List of Mineral Names (http://nrmima.nrm.se/imalist.htm)]
Luster: sparkling
+ malachite (Kreiselhalle-Malachitdom Cave, Germany)
- Monoclinic