Witched Ways

Cyanotrichite, known occasionally as lettsomite, is a rare hydrated copper aluminium sulphate mineral (Cu4Al2(SO4)(OH)12 · 2H2O). The name cyanotrichite is an apt descriptor of its appearance, originating from the Greek words kyaneos, meaning “blue”, and triches, meaning “hair”. It generally occurs as characteristic thin needle-like crystals (often radiating or in spherical aggregates), or as a druse.

It is a soft mineral, with a Mohs hardness between 1-3, and is quite fragile. It is extremely similar to carbonatecyanotrichite, where carbonate substitutes for some of the sulphate, and from which it can only be distinguished with the use of X-ray diffraction to determine atomic and molecular structure. Associated minerals include malachite, azurite, smithsonite, and brochantite.

 Sources:

Mindat

Webmineral

Minerals.net

Wikipedia

“hair”