Calcite with Malachite

Unknown Owner

It is perhaps surprising how few specimens of Calcite with Malachite are seen from the famous Tsumeb mine, especially when one sees the size of this great display specimen. The Calcite is typically very glossy with well-formed crystals, but these are unusually tabular-shaped with what appear to be pyramidal sloping sides with a truncated top. These are strange indeed, and between them are rounded, spheroidal aggregates of dark green Malachite around which the Calcite has latterly grown. Indeed, if one looks carefully around the edges of the Malachite, it appears to have directly impacted the ability of Calcite to grow, thus leaving the rounded crystal sprays of Malachite uncovered. A large and fascinating combination specimen from Tsumeb, from the generations-old Weyand Collection.