Chalcopyrite & Malachite

Description

Both Malachite and Chalcopyrite have a hardness of 3½ – 4, and Malachite has a specific gravity of 3.6 – 4.05, while Chalcopyrite’s is 4.1 – 4.3. Malachite was named in antiquity (see Pliny the Elder, 79 CE) molochitus after the Greek μαλαχή, “mallows,” in allusion to the green color of the leaves and known in the new spelling “malachites” by at least by 1661, while Chalcopyrite was only just named in 1725 by Johann Friedrich Henckel from the Greek “chalkos”, copper, and “pyrites”, strike fire.

As both Malachite and Chalcopyrite are common ores for Copper, this would make for a great sample to display that element for element collectors, alongside a piece of wire, as it’s most commonly utilized. While WebMineral shows there’s a higher concentration of Copper in the Malachite, at nearly 58%, there’s still quite a high amount within the Chalcopyrite, at 35%! In addition to the Copper, there’s around 5% Carbon and 36% Oxygen in the Malachite, and 30% Iron and 35% Sulfur in the Chalcopyrite.

There’s 14,609 recorded localities on Mindat for Malachite, and 31,936 for Chalcopyrite, so neither is very rare, but they’re both still quite valuable, so be sure to keep your eyes out for a cool green & gold rock like this and you might just strike it rich with your new Copper mine!

Or, like Dennis, the owner of the Humming Bird Mine, you might just find something like this next to the cooler and even more valuable Amethyst crystals! Check out the Amethyst Page for those, as the Humming Bird Mine is much more well known for those rather than specimens like this, but this is a personal favorite, and it’s a pleasure to share it all with you and to allow you to bring home for yourself as well if you’d like, as an obscure and rare and special rock from the century-old Copper-turned-Fluorine-turned-Amethyst Mine!

Additionally, without any claims made, there may be some Gold in this! Or, possibly some Fluorite that would glow under UV! There have been no tests nor assays nor any other forms of examination, and definitely no guarantees… but it kinda looks like it might? And, it may have a bit of Limonite as the orange, and another possible mineral as the grey, possibly Silver? Also may have a touch of quartz, calcite, and/or barite, and it might not be Chalcopyrite but rather just regular pyrite instead? Regardless, it’s quite the awesome rock!