This is an extraordinary old stock plate from Sidi Ayed, and one of the hero pieces of our Moroccan release. The mineral combination alone is enough to make it exceptional, with deep blue azurite, malachite and other secondary copper minerals are developed over fluorite and barite, with iron rich coatings introducing vivid shades of orange through the matrix. Sidi Ayed is especially celebrated for this unusual association, and the documented combination of minerals is noted by the mineral world as particularly uncommon.

There are many important azurite and malachite localities around the world, but very few produce this particular mix of secondary copper mineralisation with fluorite and barite in the same specimen. That complex mineralogy is one of the signatures of Sidi Ayed. Historic and modern examples are known with vivid azurite and malachite coating yellow fluorite and lamellar barite, sometimes across broad plate like specimens.

This piece has a wonderfully dark and moody character, reminiscent of a galaxy. Crystallised azurite is scattered across the plate almost like a night sky, with bright aqua secondary copper mineralisation running through sections of the surface. While I've been told by multiple Moroccan miners that it's Chrysocolla, I would be conservative to confidently identify it unless mineral tested - therefore we are opting to label as 'secondary copper mineral'. Beneath it, barite and fluorite feature an rich iron colouring, bringing in intense rusty orange areas that bring the specimen to life with vivid contrast.

It's a large piece with real presence, and displays beautifully on the supplied stand. The surface changes constantly from deep blue and green through aqua, orange and metallic mineralisation, with enough textural variation that every section feels different. Old stock Sidi Ayed material with this full suite of minerals is difficult to replace, and seeing it in a composition this large and aesthetic makes the piece particularly exciting.