Barite with Malachite

specimen number:
2063561

location:
Shangulowe Mine, Kambove, Haut-Katanga, DR Congo

description:

Attractive specimen from the late 1990s. Lustrous translucent crystals of green barite to 4.0 cm in length set nicely up on matrix. The green color is due to inclusions of malachite. This is in good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Located near Kambove in the Katanga Copper Belt of Haut-Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Shangulowe Mine is an inactive open-cast operation situated within oxidized copper and cobalt sedimentary deposits. Mining in this region focused heavily on copper-bearing ores trapped within Neoproterozoic dolomites and shales, where extensive supergene weathering and karstic processes remobilized copper solutions over millions of years. Modern mineral collectors prize this locality primarily for its world-class barite specimens. Unlike typical colorless barite, the crystals found at Shangulowe often display a striking pale-to-vivid green hue caused by microscopic inclusions of fibrous malachite, a secondary copper carbonate mineral, encased directly within the translucent, tabular barite matrices during crystallization.

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