Mineral Mondays!

Emerald: A variety of Beryl

A green gem variety of Beryl, highly sought after as a precious gem stone. The majority of the world's gem quality Emeralds come from the Muzo area of Colombia.
The colour in Emerald is caused by trace amounts of a chromophore such as Chromium or Vanadium.

Mineral Information on:
beryl

Chemical Group: silicate

Chemical Formula: Be₃Al₂(SiO₃)₆

Color: emerald green, pale green, light blue, yellow, white, pink Streak: white


Luster: vitreous or resinous Transparency: transparent to subtranslucent



Hardness: 7.5 to 8 Specific Gravity: 2.63 to 2.80

Fracture: conchoidal to uneven

Cleavage: imperfect and indistinct



Crystal Forms: Hexagonal system
Crystals are usually 6-sided prisms capped with flat surfaces.

Mineral Associations: found in pegmatites

Identifying Characteristics: crystal shape and a pale-green color

Uses: as a gemstone; also as a source of the element beryllium

Occurrences: Colombia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Russia, Madagascar, SW Africa;
in the U.S. in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, north Carolina, California

Toxicity: when-swallowed- when inhaled-

Additional Information:
If gemstone quality: green is emerald, bluish green is aquamarine,
pink is morganite, yellow is golden beryl or heliodor.




Kissses, 

K





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