Malachite in Granite (''K2 stone'' ''Ketonite'')

Item Description

From a discovery a few years ago near what some call the "roof of the world". When we first saw these specimens, we were convinced that they were fakes, but testing along with the large amount of rough material on the market has confirmed that they are genuine. Here we have a thumbnail sized that features "ring"-like formations of mint green Malachite floating against a black and white speckled granite background. The Malachite zones have a notable translucency, as you can see through them to the underlying granite. Most of the pieces you'll see from this locality will feature blue Azurite, but it seems to have all altered to Malachite on this piece. This stuff is strange to be sure, and everybody I showed it to has no explanation as to how it formed. It's not often we see metamorphic secondary copper minerals like this, especially in a district that's better known for producing pegmatite minerals. I have no idea if there will be more of this material, or even how much is out there, so if you want one, don't miss out. It's certainly a cool mineralogical novelty if nothing else.