Conichalcite

It's advisable to handle conichalcite carefully to avoid generating dust and wash hands thoroughly afterward. When cutting or polishing conichalcite, wear a dust mask to prevent inhaling heavy metal particles. Store conichalcite in a sealed container in a well-ventilated area, away from children and pets. For those involved in crystal healing, never put it in your mouth.

Conichalcite forms in the oxidation zones of copper orebodies. Here groundwater enriched with oxygen react with copper sulfide and copper oxide to produce an array of minerals such as malachite, azurite and linarite. Conichalcite is often found encrusted on to limonitic rocks that have yellow to red colors. Conichalcite will also form a solid solution series with the mineral calciovolborthite. When these two minerals form a solid solution series, the two interchanging elements are arsenic and vanadium. Conichalcite is the arsenic rich end member of the series and calciovolborthite is the vanadium rich end member. Notable occurrences of conichalcite include Juab Co., Utah; Lincoln and Lyon counties of Nevada and Bisbee, Arizona, in the US; Durango, Mexico; Collahuasi, Tarapaca, Chile; Calstock, Cornwall and Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England; Andalusia, Spain; and Tsumeb, Namibia.

Industrially, conichalcite has been used as an ore as it contains some copper, which has a wide variety of applications from wiring to radiation protection. Since it is soft, brittle, and typically found in small crystals, it is rarely used for jewelry. Specimens are sometimes also collected.

Conichalcite is said to remove negative energy and allow positive energy to flow, for healing of the body, mind, and spirit. It is often used by beginners of meditation as it works on the Heart chakra to help the person to embrace love and allows for better focus and understanding of the mind. It can be held in the hand for heightened support during difficult changes and transitions throughout life.