Malachite

Cu2(CO3)(OH)2

These samples of malachite are displayed in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Malachite is a carbonate mineral of copper with the composition Cu2(CO3)(OH)2. The sample at left is about 20 cm across and is from the Copper Queen mine, Bisbee, Arizona.

These two malachite sections are about 12 x 35 cm and are from the Copper Queen mine, Bisbee, Arizona.

This sample shows blue azurite forming with green malachite. It is from Bisbee. It is about 9 cm high.

This large multicolumn structure of malachite is about 35 x 50 cm and is from the Copper Queen mine, Bisbee, Arizona.

This is a sample where malachite has overcoated a sample of cuprite, showing the geometry of the large cuprite crystals. The sample is about 20 cm across and is from Onganja mine, Seeis, Namibia. At right is an example of the cuprite crystals from the same location.

This large sample has vertical dimension probably 35 cm. It has azurite crystals on a base of malachite. It is from the Copper Queen mine, Bisbee, Arizona.

This image is part of a section of a wall of a cave near Bisbee, Arizona. It is on display at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It shows the blue of azurite and the green of malachite.

The azurite is characteristically blue. The green color is characteristic of malachite. This is another sample from the Copper Queen mine in Bisbee, Arizona. It is about 13 cm across.

This is another large multicolumn structure of malachite from the Copper Queen mine, Bisbee, Arizona. It is about 25 x 35 cm. The section shows the nature of the column growth with a small opening down the center. Note the small embedded azurite crystals.

This is malachite that has replaced azurite. It is not uncommon for one mineral to replace another and in the process take on the geometry of the other crystal. The form of azurite is clearly seen here but with the green color characteristic of malachite. This sample is from Tsuneb, Namibia and is about 20 cm across.

This sample is malachite formed after azurite with some quartz content. It is also from Tsuneb, Namibia and is about 10 cm across.

Mindat: Malachite

This column structure of malachite appears to be a bit over 50cm high.

The banded malachite sample above is about 20 cm wide and is from D. R. Congo.

Microscopic analyses of these banded malachite specimens show that they grew as layers of tiny crystals. When magnified about 70 times, it was found that the smaller crystals form light-green bands with larger crystals for the dark bands.

This sample of malachite is about 18 cm long and is from the Luiswishi mine, Elizabethville, D.R. Congo.

This sample of malachite is about 20 cm wide. It is from Zambia.

Mindat: Malachite

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