3.2" Malachite on Sparkling Cobaltoan Calcite Crystals - D.R. Congo

Cobaltoan calcite, also known as cobaltocalcite, is one of many different varieties of calcite, forming with a chemical composition of (Ca,Co)CO3. It crystallizes in a trigonal crystal system and forms rhombohedral or scalenohedral crystals. These crystals tend to display a pink color that ranges anywhere from a pinkish-salmon to a hot pink.

Malachite is an intense green copper-based mineral that can be found in a wide variety of forms. Malachite can grow in botryoidal masses, stalactitic formations, and reniform formations, typically as a tight cluster of fanning fibrous needles that make up a seemingly solid mass. As layers continue to stack during formation, banded patterns can sometimes begin to take shape, explaining the rings in all shades of green seen on most polished malachite specimens.

Malachite results from the weathering of other copper ores, and is very often found associated with other copper-based minerals such as azurite and chrysocolla. It can be found in copper deposits around the world, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the primary source for polished malachite and mineral specimens.

Malachite has been prized since ancient times, first as a utilitarian copper ore, then as an ornamental stone. Due to its value as a decorative stone, it is rarely mined as a copper ore anymore.