Malachite

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Malachite

Malachite is a carbonate mineral

Carbonate minerals

Carbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion: CO32-....
normally known as "copper carbonate" with the formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound, and how the relationship between those atoms changes in chemical reactions....
Cu

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
CO₃

Carbonate

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt or ester of carbonic acid....
.Cu

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
(OH)

Hydroxide

In chemistry, hydroxide is the name for the Diatomic molecule anion OH-, consisting of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, usually derived from the Dissociation of a base ....
₂. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal

Botryoidal

A botryoidal texture or mineral Crystal habit is one in which the mineral has a globular external form resembling a bunch of grapes as derived from the Greek language....
, fibrous, or stalagmitic

Stalagmite

A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate....
masses. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms. Pseudomorph

Pseudomorph

In mineralogy, a pseudomorph is a mineral or mineral compound that appears in an untypical form , resulting from a substitution process in which the appearance and dimensions remain constant, but the original mineral is replaced by another....
s after more tabular or blocky azurite crystals also occur.

chite often results from weathering of copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
ore

Ore

An ore is a type of Rock that contains minerals such as gemstones and metals that can be extracted through mining and refined for use. Samples of ore in the form of exceptionally beautiful crystals, exotic layering visible when sectioned or polished or metallic presentations such as large nuggets or crystalline formations of metals suc...
s and is often found together with azurite

Azurite

Azutite may also refer to a blue Green fluorescent protein#GFP derivatives.----Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits....
(Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂), goethite

Goethite

Goethite, named after the Germany polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments....
, and calcite

Calcite

Calcite is a Carbonate minerals and the most stable Polymorphism of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite....
.

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Encyclopedia

Malachite is a carbonate mineral

Carbonate minerals

Carbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion: CO32-....
normally known as "copper carbonate" with the formula

Chemical formula

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
CO₃

Carbonate

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt or ester of carbonic acid....
.Cu

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
(OH)

Hydroxide

Botryoidal

Stalagmite

Pseudomorph

Occurrence and historical uses

Malachite often results from weathering of copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
ore

Ore

Azurite

Goethite

Goethite, named after the Germany polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments....
, and calcite

Calcite

Calcite is a Carbonate minerals and the most stable Polymorphism of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite....
. Except for its vibrant green color, the properties of malachite are similar to those of azurite and aggregates of the two minerals occur frequently together. Malachite is more common than azurite

Azurite

Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
s, the source of the carbonate.

Large quantities of malachite have been mined in the Urals. It is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Zambia

Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
; Tsumeb

Tsumeb

Tsumeb is the capital city of the Oshikoto Region region in northern Namibia. It is located at: . Tsumeb is seen as "gateway to the north" of Namibia ....
, Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
; Ural mountains, Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
; Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
; Broken Hill, New South Wales

Broken Hill, New South Wales

Broken Hill is an isolated mining city and Local Government Areas of Australia in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. The world's largest mining company, BHP Billiton, has roots in the town....
; England

England

Lyon

||-||}Lyon, also known as Lyons in English, is a city in east-central France. Its name is pronounced in French language and Franco-Proven?al language, and or in English language....
; and in the Southwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
especially in Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
and Arizona

Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
. In Israel

Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, malachite is extensively mined at Timna valley

Timna valley

The Timna Valley is located in southern Israel in the southwestern Arabah, approximately 30 km north of the Gulf of Aqaba and the town of Eilat....
, often called King Solomon's Mines

King Solomon's Mines

King Solomon's Mines is a popular novel by the Victorian era adventure writer and fabulist, Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a quest into an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain in search of the missing brother of one of the party....
although research has shown that the site was not in use during the 10th century.. Archeological evidence indicates that the mineral has been mined and smelted at the site for over 3,000 years. Most of Timna's current production is also smelted, but the finest pieces are worked into silver jewelry.

In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, the throne of Demeter

Demeter

File:Demeter in horse chariot w daughter kore 83d40m wikiC Tempio Y di Selinunte sec VIa.JPGDemeter , in Greek mythology, is the Goddess of cereal and fertility, the pure....
, goddess of grain and harvest, was fashioned from malachite and adorned with golden pigs

PIGS

PIGS is a four letter acronym that can stand for:* PIGS : Phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis, class S, a human gene.* PIGS : Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, an informal grouping of sluggish economies....
and ears of barley

Barley

Barley is an annual plant cereal grain derived from the grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of alcoholic beverages beer and whisky....
.

Etymology and history

The stone's name derives (via Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
) from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
molochitis, "mallow

Mallow

Mallow or Mallows may refer to:Nature:* Malvaceae, family of plants; in particular the following genera:** Abelmoschus** Althaea ? Marsh mallow...
-green stone", from moloche, variant of malache, "mallow". Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints from antiquity until about 1800. The pigment is moderately lightfast, very sensitive to acid

Acid

An acid is traditionally considered any chemical compound that, when dissolved in water, gives a solution with a hydrogen ion Activity greater than in pure water, i.e....
s and varying in color. The natural form was being replaced by its synthetic form, verditer amongst other synthetic greens. It is also used for decorative purposes, such as in the Malachite Room in the Hermitage

Hermitage Museum

The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of the largest museums in the world, with 3 million works of art , and one of the oldest art gallery and museums of human history and culture in the world....
, which features a large malachite vase (unknown scale). "The Tazza

Tazza

A tazza is a shallow saucer-like dish either mounted on a stem and foot or on a foot alone. The word has been generally adopted by archaeologists and connoisseurs for a type of drinking vessel....
", one of the largest pieces of malachite in North America and a gift from Tsar Nicholas II, stands as the focal point in the center of the room of Linda Hall Library

Linda Hall Library

The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri....
.

Malachite

Occurrence and historical uses

Etymology and history

Images

See also