Malachite (TT313)

Malachite, a copper oxide based mineral has been mined in several parts of the world.  When I was small, one of my uncles worked for some years in East Africa where malachite was (is?) often used as a decorative feature on jewellery.  This is a part view of a brooch belonging to my mum.

My train set was based on a Zambian copper mine.  It is possible to extract the copper from malachite, although the use of sulphuric acid brings, as you might expect,  a variety of environmental concerns.

Thanks to Freespiral for hosting Tiny Tuesday.