Malachite is an opaque, banded stone, the colors in the bands range from a very light green to almost deep green.
Malachite is a semi-precious stone and also a valuable copper ore, hydrous copper carbonate. It is responsible for the green color of tarnished copper and bronze. Malachite has been used as an ornamental stone and as a gemstone.
Mining Malachite began as early as 4000 BC by ancient Egyptians. In the Middle ages, malachite was worn to protect from black magic and sorcery. In Ancient Greece amulets for children were made of malachite. The most important mine is in Zaire. Notable occurrences are in Ural, Siberia, France, South Australia, Namibia and USA (Arizona).
