06/30/2026
Copper Phantom Update:
Many of you who have seen us in person over the last few months are already aware of this, but in case you've missed it, we did finally get the test results back from the University of Arizona in Tucson regarding Copper Phantom. Our beloved proprietary gemstone is actually not turquoise. As disappointed as that may sound, the results are actually even more interesting and frankly exciting.
While determining that Copper Phantom is not turquoise, we interestingly discovered that its chemistry is not a match of any other known minerals either. Turquoise is a hydrated copper-alumimum phosphate, Copper Phantom distinctly has zero phosphorus and also seems to be lacking any substantial hydration. Chrysocolla is a hydrated copper silicate mineral, with ideal chemistry showing between 30%-60% silica. Included is the report for one of our tested samples, and it shows a couple interesting things namely a remarkably low silica content (3.3%) and very surprisingly, 8.2% chlorine.
The presence of chlorine was frankly unexpected and is admittedly a little cryptic at the moment. To my knowledge, that makes Copper Phantom the first, and only chloride mineral at the mine. This isn't completely without basis however. The town of Chloride to the north is known for chloride minerals and silver chlorides are known throughout the Cerbats, but generally they aren't present in the Blue Spirit's geology.
The best theory for Copper Phantom is that it's the end product of reactions between chlorine rich ground water (salt water probably) that has oxidized and reacted with the vein(s) of native copper. Also, due to the lack of phosphorus or calcium, the white host rock above the vein seems to be a mix of quartz and likely kaolinite or a related aluminosilicate clay.
The new and updated chemical formula for Copper Phantom has been determined to be
Cu₂.₆Cl₁(Fe,Al, Si)₁O₈.₃ · nH₂O
The likelihood that Copper Phantom is a unique mineral species is high, but is still pending further testing. Namely X-ray Diffraction is needed to observe the minerals crystal structure. This will help narrow down if it's a singular mineral species with a set crystal structure similar to azurite or malachite, if it's cryptocrystalline and is composed of several smaller crystal structures conglomerated into a unified mineral similar to turquoise or chrysocolla (most likely theory), or if it's a composite material made of multiple known minerals formed together (least likely theory), or perhaps some fourth option not yet brought to my attention.
At some point down the road, Copper Phantom may graduate from a trade name to an established mineral name (which I have yet to come up with) if it's ever recognized by the IMA. Until that time, stay tuned for updates as they are made. Copper Phantom is rapidly becoming a point of interesting research.
I do plan on making another video explaining this in further detail, so stay tuned for that. From here on out all Copper Phantom sales (jewelry or specimens) will include a certificate of authenticity detailing the name of Copper Phantom as a potentially new, unrecognized mineral and gemstone.
