During my 2026 ramblings in Tucson looking for small goodies, especially those blue in color and stuck in Perky Boxes, I stumbled across a specimen of carbonatecyanotrichite. I took a quick peek with my hand lens and decided it had my name all over it. Without any other thoughts I presumed that it was cyanotrichite (Cu4Al2(SO4)(OH)12 · 2H2O), a secondary copper mineral from the oxidized zone, with some carbonate thrown into the mix. In fact, when the mineral was first described (Ankinovich and others,1963), the authors noted it was a variety of cyanotrichite. In returning home and looking at the specimen of “cyanotrichite”, I decided that it: is a gorgeous mineral; the chemistry is complex; and my guesses are usually “wrong”. This entire, confusing situation reminded me of the great poet Robert Frost—I’m not confused. I’m just well mixed.
So, every curious rockhound then descends in a deep dive into the literature “trying to find answers to life’s persistent questions” (Guy Noir, Private Eye). However, PE Noir and I failed to locate many answers to anything and agreed with Hager and others (2009): “final resolution of the nature of individual members of the [Cyanotrichite] Group awaits single-crystal studies when suitable crystals become available… “ Those Group members (closely related, monoclinic Cu-Al-sulfates) include: cyanotrichite, carbonatecyanotrichite (usually with carbonate), camerolaite (antimony rich) and khaidarkanite (fluorite rich), a Co-rich member of the group from the Grandview mine, Arizona, and a cyanotrichite-like phase from the Clara mine, Germany. Mills and others (2014) solved the crystal structure of camerolaite and suggested a structure for cyanotrichite. What Private Eye Noir and I learned from this deep dive is that although cyanotrichite and carbonatecyanotrichite were once thought to be closely related or even varieties, Hager (2009) pointed out that there is no evidence that a solid solution series exists between the two minerals. What we have is four, or more, similar minerals that are impossible to distinguish without the use of electronic gizmos such as a single crystal x-ray diffraction unit.
So, since my single crystal XRD is on the blink, how do I know that specimen presented here, and collected from the Qinglong Mine, Qianxinan, Guizhou, China, is carbonatecyanotrichite? I am taking the word of my dealer, and from Robert Lavinsky who noted in MinDat that “the Qinglong Mine in Guizhou, China is the only confirmed source for the species in the entire country. Specimens started trickling out in the mid-2000s (originally labeled as cyanotrichite - but it should be noted that many of the world occurrences for "cyanotrichite" are turning out to be carbonatecyanotrichite upon analysis), and are very few and far between these days on the market.” Now I really appreciate the words of the non-geologist Winona Ryder: when you finally accept that it's OK not to have answers and it's OK not to be perfect, you realize that feeling confused is a normal part of what it is to be a human being.
As I noted above carbonatecyanotrichite is a stunning
mineral with a sky-blue, or at times an azure blue, color. It is very soft
at~2.0 (Mohs) and has a silky luster. Transparent to translucent crystals are
acicular or needle-like in appearance. In fact, the root word of cyanotrichite
is derived from the Greek words: kyaneos = blue and triches= hair. 
Mass of hair-like crystals of carbonatecyanotrichite. Width FOV ~ 7 mm. Arrows point to unknown minerals noted below. Mineral 6 may be darkest purple fluorite or limonite.
Number 1: spherules of a very dark, ?black “nest”. My best guess limonite, Number 3: ?tan crystals without a definite shape. Both are in a vug. The matrix appears to be quartz with a few patches of fluorite.
Mineral 2: bundles of dull white prismatic crystals. My best guess is baryte. Mineral 4: white balls less than .15 mm in size. Possibly calcite.
Mineral 5: prismatic black crystal of perhaps stibnite. The very slender crystal seems perched on limonite and covered with such.
This specimen has been a tough one to decipher as the non-blue minerals are tiny, all a fraction of a millimeter and beyond the limits of my scope. As Daniel Boone stated, I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.
REFERENCES CITED
Ankinovich, E.A., I.I. Gekht, and R.I. Zaitseva,1963, A new variety of cyanotrichite - carbonate-cyanotrichite: Zapiski Vserossiyskogo Mineralogicheskogo Obshchestva: vol. 92.
Hager, S., L P. Leverett, and P.A. Williams, 2009, Possible structural and chemical relationships in the Cyanotrichite Group: The Canadian Mineralogist, vol. 47, no. 3.
Mills, S.J., A. G. Christy, C. Schnyder, G. Favreau, and J. R. Price, 2014, The crystal structure of camerolaite and structural variation in the cyanotrichite family of merotypes: Mineralogical Magazine, vol. 78, issue 7.