Minerals, L'Etoile du Congo Mine, Lubumbashi, DR Congo
Pseudomalachite
Pseudomalachite
A rare mineral; specimens of this size are a particular rarity.
Price on request · In stock — Gimenei shopping centre
- Origin
- L'Etoile du Congo Mine, Lubumbashi, DR Congo
- Size
- 30 × 24 × 23.5 cm
- Weight
- 8.7 kg
- Classification
- Phosphates
- Composition
- A copper phosphate with hydroxyl
- Ref.
- R–0247
Pseudomalachite was named for its resemblance to malachite: the same deep green colour, but different chemistry—it is a copper phosphate, not a copper carbonate. In mass it appears denser and more uniform, without malachite’s characteristic concentric patterns.
The specimen comes from the historic L'Etoile du Congo deposit in the Lubumbashi area, where cobalt and copper ore have been mined since 1907. It was here that the classic collector specimens of pseudomalachite formed, prized for their saturated colour and characteristic mineralogical appearance.