Malachite

Banded green copper carbonate. Intense, protective, difficult to miss.

Malachite is a hydrated copper carbonate with banding patterns in every shade of green from pale pistachio to near-black. The color comes from copper, the same element that makes pennies green when they oxidize. The Congo produces the overwhelming majority of commercial material, with the distinctive eye patterns and concentric banding that collectors look for. Traditionally associated with protection, boundary-setting, and the kind of heart work that doesn't pull punches.