Cuprite and Chrysocolla (Sonoran Sunrise) Rough
A rare material sometimes referred to as Christmas Stone
because of the green and red coloring. Although Sonoran Sunrise is often referred
to as chrysocolla, the greenish area is actually bronchantite. The red-orange
area is the chalcotrichite form of cuprite. The black area is usually the
copper oxide tenorite and on occasion, there is a purplish-gray area that
is cuprite. These copper secondaries impregnated a host rock of limestone,
which makes Sonoran Sunrise a great lapidary material that is easy to cut
and polish.
We have more selections of this material on our new website:
CopperCanyonLapidary.com