Malachite Malachite Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula CuCO(OH). This opaque, green banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fractures and spaces, deep underground, where the water table and hydrothermal fluids provide the means for chemical precipitation. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms. Pseudomorphs after more tabular or blocky azurite crystals also occur. The stone's name derives (via , , and Middle English "melochites") from Greek Μολοχίτης λίθος "molochitis lithos", "mallow-green stone", from μολόχη "molōchē", variant of μαλάχη "malāchē", "mallow".
Mineral a common formula of XY(Si,Al)O, where X and Y are both cations, with X typically bigger than Y; the pyroxenes are single-chain silicates that crystallize in either the orthorhombic or monoclinic crystal systems. Finally, a mineral variety is a specific type of mineral species that differs by some physical characteristic, such as colour or crystal habit. An example is amethyst, which is a purple variety of quartz. Two common classifications, Dana and Strunz, are used for minerals; both rely on composition, specifically with regards to important chemical groups, and structure. James Dwight Dana, a leading geologist of his time, first