Malachite

Origin: Luiswishi Mine, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, Republic of the Congo
Dimensions: 25 x 20 x 13 cm
Weight: 2160 grams

Malachite is a green, very common secondary copper mineral with a widely variable habit. Typically it is found as crystalline aggregates or crusts, often banded in appearance, like agates. It is also often found as botryoidal clusters of radiating crystals.

Malachite powder was used as eyeshadow, pigment for wall painting, and in glazes and colored glass in ancient Egypt around 5,000 years ago. It was also a major source of copper, as it still is. The ancient Greeks used it in children’s amulets, the Romans to ward off the evil eye, and the Chinese to decorate vases. In the 19th century, huge quantities were mined in the Ural Mountains, Russia, and an entire cathedral was decorated with it. Today, it is an important gemstone and ornamental mineral, used in cabochons, polished slabs, and carvings.