Georgeite

Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Gg
Discovered
1979
Also known as
  • Georgeiet

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

Copper-nickel mineralization in Archaean greenstone.

Type locality
Carr Boyd Rocks Ni mine
  1. Menangina Station
  2. Menzies Shire
  3. Western Australia
  4. Australia

-30.0668°, 121.6269°

4recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Physical

Hardness
123456789101 – 2/ 10 MOHS
  1. 1Talc
  2. 2Gypsum
  3. 3Calcite
  4. 4Fluorite
  5. 5Apatite
  6. 6Orthoclase
  7. 7Quartz
  8. 8Topaz
  9. 9Corundum
  10. 10Diamond
Transparency
Transparent · Opaque
Colour
Sky-blue

Ridgway Light Cerulean Blue (45-BGBb), Pale Cerulean Blue (45-BG-Bd) to Calamine Blue (45-G-Bd).

Streak
Pale blue
Tenacity
brittle
Fracture
Sub-Conchoidal
Density
2.55 g/cm³

Optical

Optical type
Isotropic
Surface relief
Moderate
Principal indices
n 1.593
Isotropy testPPL ↔ XPL diagnostic
PPL intrinsic colour; no change on stage rotation
XPL extinct at every orientation
Single index
n = 1.593

Crystallography

Crystal system
Amorphous
Type-locality form

Coatings, either powdery or with the appearance of desiccated gel.

Comment

Amorphous

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
29CuCopperCopper263.546127.092
57.48%
8OOxygenOxygen515.99979.995
36.18%
6CCarbonCarbon112.01112.011
5.43%
1HHydrogenHydrogen21.0082.016
0.91%
Total221.114100.00%

Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • Georgeiet

In other languages

German
Georgeit · IMA 1977-004
Italian
Georgeite
Chinese
水羟碳铜石

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

5.BA.10

  • 5CarbonatesClass
  • 5.BCarbonates with additional anions, without H2ODivision
  • 5.BAWith Cu, Co, Ni, Zn, Mg, MnGroup
  • 5.BA.10GeorgeiteSpecies
Dana
8th ed.

16a.03.03.01

  • 16aAnhydrous Carbonates Containing Hydroxyl or HalogenClass
  • 16a.03(AB)2(XO3)ZqType
  • 16a.03.03— unnamed intermediate level —Group
  • 16a.03.03.01GeorgeiteSpecies

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 1979Fleischer, Michael, Burns, Roger G., Cabri, Louis J., Chao, George Y., Hogarth, D. D., Pabst, Adolf (1979) New Mineral Names. American Mineralogist, 64 (11-12) 1329-1334
  2. 1979Bridge, P. J., Just, J., Hey, M. H. (1979) Georgeite, a new amorphous copper carbonate from the Carr Boyd Mine, Western Australia. Mineralogical Magazine, 43 (325) 97-98 doi:10.1180/minmag.1979.043.325.04 DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1979.043.325.04
  3. 1991Pollard, A. M., Thomas, R. G., Williams, P. A., Just, J., Bridge, P. J. (1991) The synthesis and composition of georgeite and its reactions to form other secondary copper(II) carbonates. Mineralogical Magazine, 55 (379) 163-166 doi:10.1180/minmag.1991.055.379.03 DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1991.055.379.03
  4. 2005(2005) Georgeite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America
  5. 2016Kondrat, Simon A., Smith, Paul J., Wells, Peter P., Chater, Philip A., Carter, James H., Morgan, David J., Fiordaliso, Elisabetta M., Wagner, Jakob B., Davies, Thomas E., Lu, Li, Bartley, Jonathan K., Taylor, Stuart H., Spencer, Michael S., Kiely, Christopher J., Kelly, Gordon J., Park, Colin W., Rosseinsky, Matthew J., Hutchings, Graham J. (2016) Stable amorphous georgeite as a precursor to a high-activity catalyst. Nature, 531 (7592). 83-87 doi:10.1038/nature16935DOI: 10.1038/nature16935
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Georgeite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/georgeite-1676},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}