Malachite Mineral Specimen

Malachite

Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral that crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (one of seven crystal systems), and most often forms clusters of fibrous, or stalagmitic masses in fractures and spaces.  The clusters look very similar to grapes! Malachite forms deep underground where water and hydrothermal fluids provide the means for chemical precipitation. Malachite is very recognizable due to the color (andbotryoidal clusters) which ranges from bright to dark green, and in some cases, a black-green coloring.  It is opaque and does not fluorescence. You can often see Malachite grown with Azurite, Turquoise and chrysocolla. When together with those, you will often see some of the most beautiful coloring!

Some of the common areas where malachite can be found is in Russia, the Southwestern United States, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Namibia. This mineral can come in various sizes, ranging in small thumbnails to extra large museum sized pieces.

*This mineral can be sensitive to heat and hot water

Other notable information on Malachite

• Refractive index:  1.65-1.91

(refractive index or index of refraction of a material is a dimensionless number that describes how light propagates through that medium)

• Specific gravity: 3.6-4

(specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance; equivalently, it is the ratio of the mass of a substance to the mass of a reference substance for the same given volume)

• Moh’s scale: 3.5-4.0

(scale of hardness running from 1 to 10 using a series of reference minerals; position on scale depends on the ability to scratch minerals rated lower)