malachite

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Read Next

Earth from space. Full-hemisphere views of the Earth showing Hurricane Linda at its peak approaching Baja California on 1997 September 11.

What Is Earth’s Velocity?

Solar system illustration. (planets; sun)

Why Are Planets Round?

$Reflections in a diamond. (gem; cut gemstone; optics; refraction)$

Cold Stones: 9 Gems That Will Make You Feel Like a Peasant

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?

Astronomical Observatory of the Mojon del Trigo. Long exposure using the star trail technique. Sierra Nevada National Park, in the province of Granada, Andalusia.

Is Earth Going to Change the Direction in Which It Rotates?

Discover

Pluto. The Changing Faces of Pluto. Most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003.

10 Important Dates in Pluto History

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.

What Is an Aftershock?

A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Eid al-Fitr

The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses

Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist

The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity

Arts & Culture

malachite

mineral

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

malachite

See all media

Category: Arts & Culture

Related Topics:: gemstone; carbonate mineral; ore

See all related content →

malachite, a minor ore but a widespread mineral of copper, basic copper carbonate, Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂. Because of its distinctive bright green colour and its presence in the weathered zone of nearly all copper deposits, malachite serves as a prospecting guide for that metal. Notable occurrences are at Nizhny Tagil, Siberia; Chessy, France; Tsumeb, Namibia; and Bisbee, Ariz., U.S. Malachite has been used as an ornamental stone and as a gemstone. It is more abundant and widespread than azurite, with which it is usually found. For detailed physical properties, see carbonate mineral (table).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Virginia Gorlinski.