Xocomecatlite Locality: Trixie Mine (Trixie shaft; Old Trump prospect), East Tintic District, East Tintic Mts, Utah Co., Utah, USA Size: 6.0 cm x 5.4 cm x 2.8 cm Xocomecatlite is an extremely rare Cu-tellurate found at only seven localities worldwide (MINDAT). This rich and rare combination specimen is from the very obscure Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn Trixie Mine of the East Tintic District of Utah. The sculptural quartz matrix wedge hosts bright and rich crusts and microcrystals of emerald-green xocomecatlite along with silvery grains of what appears to be hessite, not petzite and scattered flecks of free gold. Very rare combination material from this locale from the Dr. R.J. Bowell Collection. — Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0
Xocomecatlite
A rare green copper tellurate forming needlelike spherules at Moctezuma's Oriental mine.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Xocomecatlite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the oxides & hydroxide class, with the chemical formula Cu₃(Te⁶⁺O₄)(OH)₄.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 4; specific gravity 4.65; Pale green streak; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Xco, IMA status: approved, named in 1974.
A rare secondary mineral found in the oxidized zone of hydrothermal Au–Te deposits.
It is found associated with Parakhinite, dugganite (Emerald mine, Arizona, USA); mcalpineite, leisingite, jensenite, hinsdalite–svanbergite, goethite (Centennial Eureka mine, Utah, USA).
The name comes from the Nahua language xocomecatl, for grape, in allusion to its appearance as a bunch of grapes.