A rare green mineral containing copper and chlorine, found in oxidized copper ore deposits.
From chloro- (green) plus phaeo- (from Greek phaios, dusky/gray-brown) plus -ite (mineral suffix). Named in the 19th century for its greenish appearance with brownish tones.
Chlorophaeite's name captures something beautiful about mineralogy—scientists had to describe colors before they knew the chemistry, so they combined color descriptors into one word, then later discovered the green came from copper and the brownish tones from iron oxides.
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