Archeological evidence indicates that the mineral has been mined and smelted to obtain copper at Timna Valley in Israel for over 3,000 years. Since then, malachite has been used as both an ornamental stone and as a gemstone.
Definition of bane. 1a obsolete : killer, slayerb : poisonc : death, destruction stop the way of those that seek my bane â Philip Sidneyd : woe. 2 : a source of harm or ruin : curse national frontiers have been more of a bane than a boon for mankind â D. C. Thomson.
The agent of ruin or woe. We don't often use the word 'bane' any longer and when we do it is likely to be as part of 'the bane of my/his/her life'. This is usually uttered as a complaint against a not very serious threat, for example, a gardener might complain those slugs are the bane of my life. Baneful threats weren't always so casual. 'Bane' is a very ancient word, recorded in the Old English Chronicles as early as circa 800, meaning 'murderer'. The bane of one's life in those days was a very real threat to one's existence. Over time, the term 'bane' came to mean 'that which causes death' and specifically, poison.