Malachite

This hydrous carbonate of copper occurring in nature as an opaque stone, varying in colour from very light to very dark green. It has characteristic banding and is fragile and easily scratched.

Like ivory, this mineral has been over exploited by African crafts- men for a limitless production of tasteless, poor quality objects such as book-ends and paper weights. In ancient times it was widely used for jewelry and other ornaments because it was easy to work with and susceptible of a high polish.

It is found in the vicinity of copper mines and comes mainly from Africa and Russia, and to a lesser extent Australia and South America.

Techinical Specification

Name	Moh's	Specific Gravity	Structure	Cleavage	Refractive Index	Double	Disp.	Pleochro	Fluorescence
Malachite	3.5+	3.75-3.95	Monoclinic	Perfect	1.655-1.909	-0.254	None	v Strong	None