By Ray Lundin – Gemologist
Malachite can be found in Russia's Ural Mountains, France, England, Africa, California, New Mexico, Arizona and Africa.
Russian Malachite has been mined in the Ural Mountains since the early 19th century and has been used decoratively to form huge columns within buildings, giant vases, useful pieces of furniture and delicate carved artifacts. It has been used to make the enormous malachite pillar of St Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as intricately worked objects by Carl Faberge. St. Isaac’s Cathedral is the fourth largest domed cathedral in the world. Construction began in 1818 and took 40 years to complete. It contains eight massive malachite pillars in the mosaic-covered wall decorated with icons that separates the altar from the rest of the church.
One of the pillars of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia, is made of malachite.
The Malachite Room in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg is one of the most spectacular rooms of the former Winter Palace of the Czars. It was rebuilt in 1837 as a drawing room for the wife of Czar Nicholas I. It features pilasters, columns and mantelpieces in malachite mosaic set against white walls decorated with figures representing day, night, and poetry. The room is further ornamented with malachite vases and other artifacts made of malachite during the early 19th century, which were produced in the workshop of Peter Gambs. Virtually all the malachite from which the decoration of the room was produced was derived from the Russian deposits in the Ural Mountains.
Nikita Demidoff, operator of the first munitions factory in Russia, discovered copper deposits. Charged by Peter the Great to cast cannon for the government, Demidoff was sent into the Ural Mountains to search for suitable iron and copper deposits to provide the raw metal his factory needed. In 1725, after finding the iron he needed, he noted lumps of green mineral in the possession of the people in the area. He recognized the mineral as malachite. The mines would become one of the most important deposits of malachite and copper in Imperial Russia, producing copper ore and gem malachite for more than 175 years. Around 1836, the largest mass of malachite ever known was discovered at the Demidoff mine. It was in this mine that a single, banded mass contained more than 1,100 tons of fine material. Another block of malachite measuring 10 X 8 X 3.5 feet weighed about 30 tons and took 125 horses to haul the mass from the mine. Russian malachite remains a favorite carving stone today. The Russian malachite jewel box is a very popular souvenir from the Ural Mountains of Russia.
Malachite found in the Congo.
The name “malachite” is derived from the Greek word for “mallow,” since the color is similar to the leaf of this plant. The stone was often referred to as the “Peacock Stone” because of the eye-like pattern it has, which resembles the eye-like pattern of peacock feathers. Malachite was well known to the ancient Egyptians, who worked the mines between Suez and Sinai as early as 4,000 B.C. In those days it was considered to be a particularly potent talisman for children. If a piece of the stone were affixed to a child’s cradle, it was believed that all evil spirits would be driven away and the child would sleep peacefully and soundly. The ancient Egyptian women ground up malachite into a fine powder and used it as eye makeup. Because of its banded structure, which often suggests the form of an eye, malachite was worn in some parts of Italy as an amulet to protect the wearer from the spell of the “evil eye.”
One of the most ancient gems known to man, the oldest malachite decoration on record, is estimated to be 10,500 years old. Archeologists in the Shanidar Valley, Iraq, a site of early Neanderthal culture, uncovered it. Malachite beads believed to be more than 9,000 years old have been found near the ancient city of Jericho in Israel. Besides Russia’s Ural Mountains, malachite is found in France, England, Africa, California, New Mexico and Arizona. Africa furnishes the largest and best supply today.
