Detailed information
Species
Malachite, Chrysocolla, Manganese oxide
Dimensions
185 x 115 x 57
mm
Locality
L'Etoile du Congo Mine Katanga Copper Crescent Dem. Rep. of Congo
Condition
No recorded repairs
A classic Katanga Copper Crescent Malachite on Chrysocolla from the L'Etoile du Congo Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This large cabinet (or even museum size) specimen has a thick bright turquoise blue botryoidal deposit of Chrysocolla covering a cellular grey-black Manganese oxide matrix containing shards of a tan coloured rock. The Chrysocolla has in turn been mostly covered in a layer of crystallised, sparkling deep leaf green primary Malachite forming a drusy botryoidal surface which varies between a waxy and glassy lustre. Where the Malachite does not cover the Chrysocolla, smooth lustrous hemispheres and almost complete spheres of Chrysocolla glisten between the Malachite, so creating a magnificently aesthetic specimen. It will look superb on display.