Natural Malachite with Chrysocolla
An outstanding piece of malachite with chrysocolla from South Africa.
Malachite is soft and fragile so finding rough pieces in good condition can be a challenge. It's found in many countries around the world, but most of the finest material comes from Africa and the Ural Mountains of Russia.
Malachite, the first ore of copper, has been used by man for thousands of years. Cutting and polishing must be done carefully because its dust is toxic.
Malachite was mined as an ore of copper at the Great Orme Mines in Llandudno, Wales, approximately 4,000 years ago. Bronze Age miners used stone hammers and animal-bone scrapers to extract the ore.
The hammerstones, including granite and other hard rocks, were likely collected from local beaches.
Azurite was also likely extracted, while chalcopyrite and native copper have also been recorded in the deposit.
Malachite was used as a pigment by the ancient Egyptians as early as the Fourth Dynasty [2613 - 2494 BC]. In China, it was also being used by the Shāng people [c.1500 BC].
Larimar
