Pushcharovskite is a rare copper arsenate mineral typically found as delicate, pale green to blue-green platy crystals or radiating sprays. It is most often discovered in the oxidized portions of arsenical copper deposits where it forms as a secondary mineral. Collectors value it for its vibrant color and unique crystal habit, though it requires careful handling due to its arsenic content.
Is this pushcharovskite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch pushcharovskite with a known reference. Pushcharovskite sits at Mohs 2 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Pushcharovskite leaves a pale green streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Pushcharovskite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, blue-green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: platy crystals, radial aggregates, crusts.
Often confused with
Pushcharovskite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Cornubite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3-4 vs. 2).
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Pushcharovskite leaves pale green, Clinoclase leaves bluish-green.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Pushcharovskite leaves pale green, Strashimirite leaves white; luster reads vitreous on Pushcharovskite and pearly on Strashimirite.
Often found alongside pushcharovskite
Minerals reported to co-occur with pushcharovskite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Cu(AsO₃OH)·H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 3.31 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Pale Green
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Platy Crystals, Radial Aggregates, Crusts
- Cleavage
- Perfect On {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- Oxidized Zones of Hydrothermal Copper-arsenic Deposits
- Typical price
- $50-300 per small specimen
Where rockhounds find pushcharovskite
Classic worldwide localities
- Khaydarkan mercury deposit, Kyrgyzstan
- Ojuela Mine, Mexico
- Tsumeb Mine, Namibia
Field-hunting tip
Look in oxidized zones of hydrothermal copper-arsenic deposits country — that is the host setting where pushcharovskite typically forms. If you start seeing clinoclase, cornubite, malachite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a platy crystals, radial aggregates, crusts habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find pushcharovskite on the map
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