Heart Shaped Malachite Specimen #geology #crystals #minerals #malachite #rocks #gems

Heart Shaped Malachite Specimen #geology #crystals #minerals #malachite #rocks #gems

Malachite is a variety of copper carbonate mineral that forms as crystalline, or native, copper deteriorates in the ground. Malachite is just a really fun mineral.

Via Mindat:
Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
Colour: Bright green, with crystals deeper shades of green, even very dark to nearly black; green to yellowish green in transmitted light.
Lustre: Silky, Earthy
Hardness: 3½ – 4
Specific Gravity: 3.6 – 4.05
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Member of: Rosasite Group
Name: Named in antiquity (see Pliny the Elder, 79 CE) molochitus after the Greek μαλαχή, “mallows,” in allusion to the green color of the leaves. Known in the new spelling, malachites, at least by 1661.
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, and as mammillary aggregates as well. Single crystals and clusters of distinguishable crystals are uncommon, but when found they are typically acicular to prismatic. It is also frequently found as a pseudomorph after Azurite crystals, which are generally more tabular in shape.

#malachite #crystals #gems #rocks #minerals

9 Comments

  1. @mooneyfinemineral on October 26, 2024 at 6:54 pm

    Malachite forms as copper or other copper minerals deteriorate in the ground, in the presence of carbonates.



  2. @srely3786 on October 26, 2024 at 6:57 pm

    No way! So cool! ❤❤❤



  3. @Alex_plays_fortnite on October 26, 2024 at 7:00 pm

    We got a lot of copper in Cyprus but I haven’t found a solid piece



  4. @stateofdisorder1 on October 26, 2024 at 7:34 pm

    Awe, it’s so cute!



  5. @CelestialSushi on October 26, 2024 at 7:40 pm

    Dayum, that color tho~



  6. @francescaa8331 on October 26, 2024 at 7:44 pm

    Been enjoying these shorts of really tasty minerals.



  7. @bellablue5285 on October 26, 2024 at 7:44 pm

    I still instantly think Sailor Moon, but malachite is definitely one I want to see irl someday



  8. @amberandrews6842 on October 26, 2024 at 7:45 pm

    That’s really pretty!!



  9. @mikagura-z8m on October 26, 2024 at 7:48 pm

    It’s the rainy season in Japan right now, so green minerals like this give me energy. I hope the rainy season opens soon…