Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral with a hardness of 3.5-4 on the Mohs scale, which means it's quite soft and can scratch relatively easily.
Though malachite was one of the first ores used to produce copper metal, it is not used as much today because it's more valuable as a specimen/jewelry. It's been revered by humans for over 4000 years and used as a sculptural material & as a gemstone. Ancient Egyptians even used ground up malachite as pigment. Today it is most often sold polished and cut into cabochons or beads for jewelry.
Most malachite deposits have been aggressively mined, so while it's historically been found in Egypt, Palestine, and Russia - most of today's material is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with small deposits in Morocco, Australia, France, & the US (namely Arizona).
Malachite is a striking green color that doesn't fade in sunlight or over time. It forms at shallow depths in oxidizing zones above copper deposits, in a favorable subsurface chemical environment that also facilitates formation of Azurite, Bornite, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Copper, Turquoise, and other iron oxides. This is why you often find it alongside Chrysocolla and Azurite in mixed specimens.
Natural malachite comes in many forms: including botryoidal formations (like "forbidden broccoli"), a cluster shape called "velvet" malachite due to its velvet-like texture, and sometimes as stalactites and botryoidal coatings in caves. These formations are echoed in the natural swirls and bullseyes you can see in polished malachite.
