Malachite - The Colors, Shapes and Sizes

Malachite is possibly one of the most popular semi precious stones available. In fact, most people that possess Malachite don’t even realize they own it. Malachite is known for its incredible beauty and attractive colors. Malachite comes either in a rich dark green color or a light variety of green. The distinct quality of Malachite is that the many different hues that are present in one stone form bands or rings. This makes the stone extremely interesting and unique and it is definitely a key attribute of this beautiful mineral.

Because of its deep rich greens, this stone looks similar to certain types of Jade. While Jade is much more valuable than this stone, you would be hard pressed to find someone that didn’t think this stone was as beautiful as Jade.

Because Malachite is mined or found in large masses, you can find large piece of this gemstone that are created in figurines or small statues. Sometimes figurines are created in animal form and many times, pieces of this stone can be used to create small boxes or cases for your other precious jewels.

Malachite is a form of copper ore and is associated with many different types of minerals. It gets its green color from chromium and usually has an opaque or translucent clarity. This gemstone can come in crystal form which is much more translucent than the normal mass stone variety. While Malachite is not as hard as many other stones, it is a great stone to be used for many types of jewelry.

How and Where is Malachite Found and Formed?

Malachite is one of the more common semi precious gemstones. In fact, it is so common, that most people don’t even know it by name; they are just enamored by its beautiful color. Malachite is formed from copper, and it is one of the more popular common ores. Malachite is very common as a copper ore that it is associated with about 50% of secondary copper minerals.

Malachite is usually referred to by gemologists as copper carbonate hydroxide, it is written scientifically as Cu2(CO3)(OH)2. While this wonderful semi precious gemstone is primarily used as ornamental jewelry, it can be used for paint pigments and larger figurines. Malachite is a beautiful green that varies from light to dark. What makes it even more wonderful is its beautiful bands and rings that can make each stone look unique. The stone is either opaque when it is in a massive form or can be translucent when in its crystal form. Usually Malachite is found in oxidized copper deposits and can be found in the following forms; botryoidal, reniform and stalactites.

Malachite is found in many regions all over the world. Some of the more popular places that Malachite is found and mined are the Ural Mountains of Russia, Namibia, Shaba, South Australia including Brisbane, Germany, Romania, Mexico, and Arizona and New Mexico in the United States.

Regarding size, usually huge chunks of Malachite are found in the above regions. They are not usually found in very small sizes such as other types of rare gemstones or minerals.