The
compact malachite is found in large opaque rocks, where all gradations
of green are seen intertwined in zones, in concentric strata, and in
segments of circles. Its breakage is unequal and its texture very fine.
Its specific gravity is 3-65.
This
kind is found abundantly at Goumichefsky, near Ekaterinebourg, in
Siberia, in which country, unique in the world for the wealth of its
copper mines, malachite under every possible form is found.
But
frequently cavities occur in the large pieces, filled with earth or
other foreign materials, which interrupt the natural design, and often
prevent the completion of works of art in this mineral.
For
jewellery, malachite of a light colour is preferred, if gradually
varied and covered with darker marks, especially when some are
iridescent, or marked with diverging spheres or peacock's eyes.
Its price varies from four to twenty lire the kilogramme.
The hardness and inequalities in the solidity of this
