Malachite is green, and my wifes favorite gemstone. It is another Arizona favorite in that it is a copper ore and can be found around the many copper excavations. It is a very dense, heavy, and fairly hard material. It takes a high polish and often has swirls and botryoidal patterns that make for interesting cabs.

Good cutting malachite is fairly rare and usually expensive. I've seen some material for sale that comes from Africa, and occasionally I come across old stock from local collectors who were able to gather it from mine dumps during the haydays of rockhounding.

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