Malachite

This quite simply is a stunning specimen, a dense cluster of fibrous emerald-green Malachite crystals forming an elongated spherical ball, perfectly circular in plan view and a hot-air balloon shape in profile.  The Malachite is most characteristic of the Mashamba West mine, in the Kolwezi mining district Lualaba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in that it is fibrous with a silk-like texture and lustre.  The surface of the spherical part is dark emerald green verging on bottle green, and in contrast, exposed inside surfaces are a mid-emerald-green.  In one side-section the internal structure of inter-layered platy Malachite with light powder-blue Plancheite is interesting and adds to the overall aesthetic.  A tremendous Malachite from Mashamba West.