It occurs with other supergene minerals such as chalcocite, covellite and digenite in the enriched zone of copper orebodies.

[5] Djurleite was named for the Swedish chemist Seved Djurle (1928–2000), from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, who first synthesized the mineral in 1958, prior to its discovery in nature.

The natural material was first described in 1962 by E H Roseboom Jr, of the US Geological Survey, from occurrences at the type locality, Barranca del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico.

The crystal class is 2/m, meaning the structure has an axis of twofold rotational symmetry perpendicular to a mirror plane.

[11] Crystals are short prismatic and thick tabular, but the mineral usually occurs in a massive and compact form.