ATACAMITE
This article appears in Volume V02, Page 822 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: ARN-AUD
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ATACAMITE , a mineral found originally in the desert of Atacama, and named by D. de Gallizen in 18oi. It is a cupric oxychloride, having the formula CuC12.3Cu(OH)2, and crystallizing in the orthorhombic system . Its hardness is about 3 and its specific gravity 3.7, while its colour presents various shades of green, usually dark. Atacamite is a comparatively rare mineral , formed in some cases by the action of sea-water on various copper-ores, and occurring also as a volcanic product on Vesuvian lavas. Some of the finest crystals have been yielded by the
ATALANTA copper-mines of South Australia, especially at Wallaroo. It occurs also, with malachite , at Bembe, near Ambriz, in West Africa. From one of its localities in Chile, Los Remolinos, it was termed Remolinite by Brooke and Miller. Atacamite, in a pulverulent state, was formerly used as a pounce under the name of " Peruvian green sand," and was known in Chile as arsenillo. (F. W. R.*)
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