Malaquita Estalagmita
Malaquita is a mineral with formula Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂, in the Carbonatos group. This specimen comes from Mina Shilu Cu-Fe, Yangchun, Yangjian, Guangdong, China.
Description
Complete stalagmitic column of malachite, with an intense dark green colour and a velvety botryoidal surface. Perfectly terminated in a flower-like expansion. Upright and free of fractures or repairs.
About Malaquita
Malachite is a basic copper carbonate (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂), made up of copper, carbonate and hydroxyl groups. At Shilu, water flowed through cavities in limestone karst, carrying copper dissolved from earlier minerals. As water dripped onto the floor of a cavity, the dissolved copper, carbonate and hydroxyl groups could combine and precipitate as malachite crystals. This specimen appears to have grown in that way, as a stalagmite, building up layers of mineral upwards. Its tiny fibrous crystals give it a velvety texture and silky lustre.
About the locality
One of China's best-known mineral localities worldwide, renowned for its extraordinary stalactitic malachite specimens. Mining operations, primarily focused on copper and iron, reached their peak during the 1970s, with a vast open-pit mine that closed in 1998. Around 2005–2006, copper extraction resumed in the area, allowing the recovery of spectacular malachite stalactites, many of them thanks to the artisanal work of local miners. Today, the main open pit remains flooded and inactive, but magnificent specimens still appear on the market: some kept in storage for years, others recovered from small-scale artisanal workings in the surrounding area.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0100
- Composition
- Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂
- Name
- Malaquita
- Variety
- Estalagmita
- Group
- Carbonatos
- Category
- Estélites
- Mine
- Mina Shilu Cu-Fe
- District / Municipality
- Yangchun
- Province
- Yangjian
- Region
- Guangdong
- Country
- China
- Size (cm)
- 7.5 x 2.5 x 2
- Weight
- 37.6 g
- Etymology
- From the Greek "malachē" (mallow), in allusion to the green colour of the plant’s leaves.
- Quality
- Top
- Value trend
- Al alza
Related specimens
- Abellaíta — España
- Andersonita — España
- Aragonito (Pantojo) — España
- Aragonito (Azul (Toralina)) — España
- Aragonito — Italia
- Aragonito — España
- Aragonito (Pantojo) — España
- Aragonito (Azul) — Italia