Description
Eilat Stone derives its name from the city of Eilat where it was once mined; it is a green-blue inhomogeneous mixture of various secondary copper minerals, including malachite, azurite, turquoise, pseudomalachite, and chrysocolla. The Eilat Stone is the national stone and is also known as the King Solomon Stone.
The mineral chrysocolla is a hydrated copper-aluminum silicate with the chemical formula (Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5(OH)4·n(H2O). The mineral belongs to the cyclosilicates. The translucent to opaque green, blue, blue-green, or brown chrysocolla has a dull to vitreous luster, a light green streak color, and the mineral has no cleavage. Chrysocolla has an average density of 2.15 and a hardness of 2.5 to 3.5. The crystal system is orthorhombic and the mineral is not radioactive. Similar minerals are dioptase, shattuckite, and turquoise. The name of the mineral chrysocolla is derived from the Greek words chrysos (“gold”) and kolla (“glue”). This name was given because the mineral was used to solder gold. Chrysocolla is a fairly common mineral that occurs primarily as an accompanying mineral of copper ores. The type locality is Nizhne-Tagilsk in the Urals, Russia. Significant concentrations are found in the United States, primarily in the states of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and California. This mineral also occurs in Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Canada. Very fine stones originate from Israel, South Africa, Congo, Zimbabwe, Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Germany, England, Romania, and France. Eilat stone is an intergrowth of chrysocolla with turquoise and malachite, found near Eilat. Chrysocolla quartz is an intergrowth of chrysocolla with quartz.
