Malachite from Morenci is fairly common but there have only been a relatively few pockets of these large crystals of azurite, completely replaced by the malachite. Ruben Avila traded his Mexican finds with some of his friends and fellow dealers, for minerals for a small but choice suite of Arizona copper minerals. This would be a piece from the 1980s era of mining at Morenci by Stan Esbenshade and Wayne Thompson, working with Mike New sometimes. Ruben, at the time, was New's scout in Mexico, and his collection expanded to include Morenci and other southern Arizona minerals. This is a classic pseudomorph in some ways, in terms of shape and color of the crystals. However, it is unusually fine and notable for the chatoyance, and the silky texture of all the surfaces.