Malachite ps. Cuprite

Unknown Owner

Help improve this recordNo owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

These historic specimens of Malachite coated Cuprite from Onganja are still unique in the world, and have not been found in decades (since the 1970s) in this quality. This is an unusually aesthetic Malachite-Cuprite duet of crystals with great geometry to these remarkably three-dimensional crystals. The largest crystal of this two-crystal composite is nearly 4 cm in size and the other is 2.8 cm across and both show a combination of octahedral, cubic and dodecahedral forms! The Malachite coating on these is a variegated bright green and very lightly textured as the Malachite is a thin coating on the Cuprite. These are big and unusually freestanding crystals on a sliver of off-white, granular crystalline Calcite matrix! This is a classic piece from this famous locality that came out in the early 1970s with none found since. Notably, unlike many, this has not had the Malachite removed by acid to expose Cuprite underneath. The pattern and form of the crystals are shocking, visually, and unique in the mineral world.