Malachite with Quartz

specimen number:
9506236

location:
Mindingi mine, Kambove, Haut-Katanga, DR Congo

description:

An attractive and neat combination piece from sparkling green botryoidal crystallized malachite across the top of a quartz crystal matrix. This is in great condition.

The Mindingi Mine, located in the Kambove territory of the Haut-Katanga Province within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is part of the world-renowned Central African Copperbelt. Geologically, the deposit sits within the Neoproterozoic rocks of the Lufilian Arc, where sediment-hosted copper and cobalt mineralization occurs in folded and faulted carbonate sequences. Intense supergene oxidation processes in these local strata created rich secondary zones celebrated among mineral collectors for yielding exceptionally fine botryoidal and fibrous malachite specimens, often associated with quartz. Historically, formal prospecting and exploitation in the Kambove-Swambo district began under colonial concessions in the early 20th century alongside regional operations by Union Miniere du Haut-Katanga, transitioning through various phases of industrial and artisanal extraction over the decades before eventually becoming inactive as a major commercial producer.

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