Introduction:

botallackite is a supergene copper mineral typically found in areas where unusually high concentrations of chloride ions are present and the host matrix periodically dries out, allowing solutions to evaporate. This rather demanding geochemical/environmental requirement explains why, in the UK, it is a rare mineral, typically occurring where chalcopyrite-bearing mineralization outcrops in coastal areas. A number of other copper and lead-bearing chloride minerals may be present in association. Botallackite is the least thermodynamically stable of the basic copper chlorides, and experimental studies have shown that it is an intermediate, metastable phase under most conditions (Pollard et al., 1989).

Occurrence in Wales:

the single confirmed, natural occurrence of botallackite in Wales is a very recent discovery, on the Llŷn within a geochemical environment typical for the species (Dossett & Green, 1998). A previously noted occurrence from Halkyn Mountain, Clwyd (Bevins, 1994) is in a slag matrix, and thus does not represent a natural mineral, according to the latest International Mineral Association definition (Nickel, 1995).

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