How to Cleanse Malachite: 5 Simple Steps That Work [Video]

There are many practical know-hows for many precious stones collectors, including how to cleanse malachite.

Malachite is a copper carbonate-based solid mineral found very close to the earth’s surface. It was believed to have first been discovered and mined by the people of ancient Israel and Egypt.

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And while it was widely used because of its many practical applications, malachite was reputable because of its allure and irresistible beauty.

This beauty later inspired the people of ancient Rome and Greece to feature the stone in their artworks and statues and even don them as jewelry.

Malachite, once purified, is very easy to recognize with its beautiful rich green color that seems to originate from within the stone itself. But this isn’t how it looks during extraction. On extraction, the mineral is often opaque and dull and requires proper cleansing and polishing to turn into the translucent crystal stone loved by many worldwide.

Hence, our today’s focus is to teach you how to cleanse malachite quickly, whether you are just getting the opaque stone for the first time or trying to recharge a translucent one you have had for years.

Table of Contents

How to Cleanse Malachite

In the past, cleaning this gem was essential to remove impurities from it. It was essentially for practical purposes such as soothing and healing arthritis or wearing it in certain areas to ward off negativity.

Today, lovers of this stone learn how to cleanse malachite to recharge it since it eliminates negative energy and can spark patience and clarity when kept near the work area.

Malachite can be cleansed in 5 easy steps, but first, let us consider the items you will need to make this happen:

A round ceramic bowl
Some portion of non-iodized salt from the sea
Any available dried herbs such as sage, cedar, or rose petals
A garden shovel
Quartz cluster

Below are some of the procedures on how to cleanse malachite:

Step 1: Pour in the salt

Depending on the size of your gem, pour some amount of sea salt into the ceramic bowl. Place the malachite on top of the salt and leave the bowl overnight under the moonlight.

Leaving it under the moonlight is optional, and you may skip it when there is no moon in the sky, but doing this helps to refuel your gem with natural elements for the best effect.

Step 2: Pour out the salt.

The following morning, lift the stone, pour the salt away, and return the gem into the bowl. Next, sprinkle some of the dried herbs you have over the malachite.

You may also leave this under moonlight overnight for maximum cleansing.

Step 3: Make a hole

Following the overnight treatment, pick up your shovel and dig a hole in your garden. The size of the hole would largely depend on the size of your stone.

Next, place the malachite in the hole and cover it with the dugout soil. Leave there for a couple of days. This would allow the soil’s mineral and natural nutrients to act on the stone and purify it.

Step 4: Bring in the quartz cluster.

A quart cluster is a neutral stone used mainly for absorbing negative energy from other stones. Lay your malachite on a cluster of quartz and allow staying overnight.

The cleansing should be complete by the following morning, and your malachite should look as good as new.

Step 5: Avoid exposure to direct sunlight

The sun may be a natural entity, but it does not leave a good impression on your precious stone. The same way through which the moon helps to recharge the malachite is how the sun helps to deplete it of positive energy.

In the case where your stone is jewelry that must be worn out, avoid exposing it to direct sunlight for an extended period.

Can You Touch Raw Malachite?

Raw malachite often refers to the stone in its unprocessed form with about 57% copper content. This makes it easily toxic and unsafe to handle without adequate protective gear.

Luckily, this is taken care of during procession, making polished malachite both safe and healthy to handle and wear.

Ironically, polished malachite absorbs negativity and toxicity from the system and empowers you with creativity and patience.

Below are some of the best tips for handling malachite properly:

Only wear polished malachite

From healing stones to jewelry, be sure that the malachite stone you have has been well polished. One way to identify a polished stone is to be sure that it is cut and clean. The rings of green colors should also be very visible.

Preferably, you can ask the dealer before buying one. Polished malachite is both powerful and pretty and can be used as self-help tools or worn as pendants, bracelets, and necklaces.

Clean your malachite regularly

Malachite stones need to be cleaned often as they take a good dose of toxicity away from you and your surroundings every day.

This is why it is crucial to learn how to cleanse malachite. The cleaning can be done as regularly as you like, but most collectors recommend cleaning at least once or twice every month.

Even malachite stones used as jewelry need to be cleaned occasionally to make them more valuable and beautiful.

Avoid direct contact with sunlight and water.

You need to learn how to cleanse malachite, and this means you need to learn what to avoid.

For instance, sunlight is indicted in draining power from your malachite and making it less useful for that moment.

On the other hand, water can cause irreparable damage to the coating of the stone. Malachite ranks 3-4 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it is unhealthy to leave it in water for a prolonged period.

What Happens If You Get Malachite Wet?

When you get malachite wet, what happens is that the copper contained in it is released into the water.

But, this answer is not as straightforward as it appears. The type of malachite (polished or unpolished), the acidity of the water, and the duration for which the malachite was exposed to the acidic water all add up to determine whether the toxic element is released or not.

For instance, processed and polished malachite is often sealed and has minimal copper in it. Therefore, getting this type of stone wet will produce little or no copper at all. On the other hand, raw malachite has very high levels of copper and will promptly release that copper into the water when it is immersed in it.

Secondly, the acidity of the water also plays a role in the release of the element. Water, like many other solvents, can have various levels of concentration. From highly acidic (with pH of 1.0) to highly basic (with pH of 10.0) and neutral (pH 7.0). Highly acidic water can act on the malachite, especially the raw ones, to leach copper into the water. This is uncommon with highly basic water and processed malachite.

A final thing to consider here is how long the malachite was left in the water. Raw malachite left in highly acidic water and for an extended period can cure copper into the water faster than when polished malachite is left in water for a shorter period.

That said, it is also untrue that moist malachite releases copper fumes that are toxic to your health. This is because malachite is a hydrated carbonate solid mineral. Whether it contains copper or not, malachite is still a solid compound. It could react to highly acidic water by leaving copper deposits in the water, but it does not emit any gaseous substance.

However, an emission that you may want to beware of is malachite in its powdery form. Like many stones with similar properties, like dust particles, malachite releases its toxic components, which can become suspended in the surrounding air, making it unsuitable for breathing.

This is why protective gears, eyewear, and respirators are often worn when malachite is getting transformed or processed from its raw form or when it is getting cut and polished.

How Can You Tell If Malachite is real?

Aside from learning how to cleanse malachite, you also must know how to tell fake malachite from the real deal. This will make it easy to purchase the best stones.

The best way to tell if malachite is real or not is to check the price and the uniformity and patterns of light and color within a given stone.

The price should not be the sole determiner of the authenticity of this gem, as the location you buy the malachite may also help to influence how expensive it is. However, genuine malachite stones tend to cost more than fake ones in most cases.

The price should be combined with the distinctiveness of the rings of color and light within the stone. Real malachite gemstones have different stripes, circles, waves, and swirls of colors within them. And the bigger the stone, the more recognizable these patterns will appear.

What makes it even more unique is that the patterns are non-uniform and can occur in different manners, with the lights moving gradually from light green to almost dark green.

Fake malachite gems do not possess these properties. First, most fake stones only come with stripes and do not have waves, swirls, or circles.

Secondly, fake malachite stones have only two lighter and darker green colors, with the two being in undeniable stark contrast.

Other differences you can look out for include these:

Real malachite is cold to touch and never warms up once it is in your hands. On the contrary, fake malachite is usually warm to the touch. It may seem cold at first but begins to warm up once you have been holding it for a few minutes. This is a property of the glass from which most synthetic stones are made.
Real malachite is heavier than solid glass or plastic and feels dense once in your hands. This is in contrast with the fake that is often as lightweight as plastic and has a feel almost empty once you grab it.

Does Malachite Have Value?

Malachite has value, with the best specimens being modestly priced at best. And in most cases, the more the unusualness and distinctiveness of the pattern it is displayed in, the greater the value.

Consequently, pure malachite stones embroidered in precious metal settings are more valuable than those left with basic sterling silver designs.

The age of the stone also tends to determine its value so that vintage gemstones that were passed down from earlier generations are typically more valuable than those manufactured in the modern world.

Malachite has low hardness, which means it doesn’t stay unbroken or unscratched like other harder stones such as diamonds. Finding malachite that has survived for a very long time without losing its structure is, therefore, considered a sign of being more original and precious, hence the hike in value.

A final thing that determines the value of malachite is the size. Bigger pure malachite will have more value than a smaller one. The green colors that attract people to malachite are more visible in larger pieces so that the bigger the stone, the more magic it holds.

The above factors can be used individually or collectively to decide how much a stone should be worth. But it requires the services of a professional stone appraisal to determine this value correctly.

Summarily, you may find polished malachite for as low as $10 or as high as $10,000, depending on what you are looking for.

Conclusion

The average malachite enthusiast wants to own malachite for its many utilities. And while people want to use it as jewelry, some simply want it around their house for its healing benefits.

Learning how to cleanse malachite is essential for anyone who has one or is thinking of owning one. The cleaner your stone, the more beautiful, appealing, and practical it would be in its uses.

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