Mineral Mondays!

Imandrite:

Imandrite is a silicate in the Loverzerite group and a hybrid between nepheline syenite and Grauwacke, or an albitegranite. It is found in Khibinh massif, near Lake Imandra (its namesake), Kola Peninsula, and Russia.

Formula:	Na 12 Ca 3 Fe 3+ 2 (Si 6 O 18 ) 2
System:	Orthorhombic	Hardness:	5 - 5½
Member of:	Lovozerite Group

It's silicate crystals have such pretty colorations but the more I look at it, it kind of reminds of a Christmas fruitcake... Lol... What do you think?

Kisses,

K

(Images and info via Web Mineral, Mindat, and the NGDI)

 

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Mineral Mondays!

Today we take a look at Howlit. It's a beautiful opaque white stone with veins that adds great contrast with other stones but holds it own too. Howlite is frequently dyed to imitate turquoise, thus creating a more affordable option, but I think it's pretty awesome as is. Sometimes the simplest things are the most beautiful!

 

Formula: Ca2 B5 SiO9 (OH)5

System: Monoclinic Colour: White; colourless in ...

Hardness: 3½ - 6½

Name: After Henry How (1828 - 1879) Canadian chemist, geologist, and mineralogist, of Nova Scotia, who first described the species.

Usually compact earthy masses and very rarely in crystals. The earthy material gives a "hardness" of 3.5 but this is just the hardness of separating the grains. The crystals give a hardness of 6.5

Kisses,

K

(Images and info via Mindat , Gyógyítás Kövekkel, and Cochise)

 

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Mineral Mondays!

Gaspeite:

This rare stone takes its beautiful green hues from its Nickel content, it's naturally vibrant green is one of my favorites. It is only found in very few localities with the largest one in Western Australia. This location has long since been worked out, and the only Gaspeite available on the market now comes from small supplies collected many years ago.

Another stone similar in colour to Gaspeite is Mojave (Mohave) Turquoise, which is often marketed as being Gaspeite.

Formula:	(Ni,Mg,Fe)CO 3
System:	Hexagonal	Colour:	Light green
Hardness:	4½ - 5
Member of:	Calcite Group
Name:	After the type locality: Gaspé Peninsula, Lemieux Township, Gaspé-Ouest Co., Québec, Canada

Type Occurrence of Gaspéite:

Type Locality: New Jersey Zinc Exploration Co. roadcut, Mont-Albert, La Haute-Gaspésie RCM, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, Canada

General Appearance of Type Material: Light green rhombohedral crystals, Spinel, Serpentine Group, Magnesite, Dolomite Annabergite

Associated Minerals at type locality:

Physical Properties of Gaspéite

Lustre: Vitreous, Dull

Colour: Light green

Streak: Green, yellow

Hardness (Mohs): 4½ - 5

Cleavage: Distinct/Good, Good {1011}

Fracture: Irregular/Uneven

Density (measured): 3.71(1) g/cm3

Density (calculated): 3.748 g/cm3

Crystallography of Gaspéite

Crystal System: Hexagonal

Cell Parameters: a = 4.621Å, c = 14.93Å

Ratio: a:c = 1 : 3.231

Unit Cell Volume: V 276.10 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Kisses,

K

(Images and info via Cactus and Coyote, Entia Jewelry, Wikipedia, CMU, Mineral Atlas, Mindat)

 

Mineral Mondays!

(Sorry for the late post today. I've been a bit under the weather. :( )


Without further ado I give you....

Fluorite:

Fluorite is one of my favorites! The color tonations and the way it catches the light make it beautiful to behold and work with. I design and fabricate jewelry and Fluorite is a stone I find myself coming back to again and again.

Formula:	CaF 2
System:	Isometric	Colour:	Purple, lilac, ...
Lustre:	Vitreous, Dull	Hardness:	4
Member of:	Fluorite Group
Name:	From the Latin, fluere = "to flow" (for its use as a flux in the melting of metal ores). The term fluorescence is derived from fluorite, which will often markedly exhibit this effect. The element fluorine also derives its name from fluorite, a major source for the element.

Fluorite Group: Fluorite is found as a common gangue mineral in hydrothermal veins, especially those containing lead and zinc minerals. It is also found in some greisens, granites, pegmatites and high-temperature veins, and as a component of some marbles and other metamorphic rocks.

Kisses,

K

(Images and info via Mindat, Cochise, and windows2universe)

 

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





(Images and info via minfind, Pinterest and Cochise)


 

Mineral Mondays!

A kiss on the hand can be quite continental...

But diamonds are a girl's best friend!

Formula:	C
System:	Isometric	Colour:	Colourless, yellowish to ...
Lustre:	Adamantine, Greasy	Hardness:	10
Name:	From Greek "adamas", 'invincible'. First known use by Manlius (A.D. 16) and Pliny (A.D. 100).
Polymorph of:	Chaoite, Graphite, Lonsdaleite

Diamond is the hardest natural substance known. It is formed deep in the mantle, and is only brought to the surface via kimberlite pipes, lamprophyres, eclogites and other rocks that originate deep within the mantle. It is also found in alluvial deposits, along with quartz, corundum, zircon and other minerals, derived from such rocks, and in certain meteorites.

The variety carbonado was suggested to form in stellar supernovae explosions (Garai et al., 2006), but this has been disputed by other authors.

 


Kisses,

K

(Images via Pinterest and info via Mindat)

 

Mineral Mondays!

Beryl (i.e. blue/ green goodness!):

Formula:	Be 3 Al 2 (Si 6 O 18 )
System:	Hexagonal	Colour:	Green, blue, yellow, ...
Lustre:	Vitreous, Sub-Vitreous, Waxy, Greasy	Hardness:	7½ - 8
Member of:	Beryl Group
Name:	Possibly from the Greek "beryllos" which referred to a number of blue-green stones in antiquity.

 

Kisses,

K

 

Mineral Mondays

Welcome to Mineral Mondays! Every Monday I will share a different mineral with you. I love geology and am excited to share a photo and the mineral's information with you.

To begin: Atacamite

Formula:	Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl
System:	Orthorhombic	Colour:	Bright green, dark ...
Lustre:	Adamantine, Vitreous	Hardness:	3 - 3½
Member of:	Atacamite Group
Name:	Named after the type locality, in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.
Polymorph of:	Anatacamite, Botallackite, Clinoatacamite

It is a secondary copper mineral formed through the oxidation of other copper minerals, especially in arid, saline conditions and may alter to malachite and chrysocolla, creating pseudomorphs.

Kisses,

K

(Information and photos found via Cochise, Mindat.org, and Wikipedia)