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What Kind Of Minerals and Crystals Can Be Found In Ohio?

Ohio Fluorite
Calcite celestite Pugh Quarry, Custar, Ohio

Calcite and celestite crystals from Ohio

If you live in Ohio and want to get rich finding Emeralds then forget it. Your best bet for that is to move to the Asheville, NC. Our state just doesn’t have the Geology necessary for that sort of gemstone to be present. It’s true people do find gold and diamonds (six of those have been found in Ohio, not including those found in jewelry stores) in Ohio, but those are travelers that arrived courtesy of glaciers and deposited in glacial sedimentary deposits.

But just because you can’t fill a jewelry shop from our geology doesn’t mean that Ohio isn’t rich in crystal treasure. Our state is blessed with minerals that are used industrially and helped turn the state into an Industrial powerhouse. It also is a source of beautiful minerals perfect for a collection or as a display piece (Celestite, I am looking at you!) And don’t get me started talking about fossils! Cincinnati is famous for its rich troves of Ordovician era fossils on the Cincinnati Arch. You know where to go if you want a Trilobite.

Since most locals aren’t aware of our state’s Geology, let alone that we have a geology, or if we have one, where somebody may have misplaced it, how much it’s worth and whether you can trade it to rent Top Gun: Maverick on Amazon, we are presenting a curated list of the crystals and minerals found in the Buckeye state.

Photo credit for image above: Photo By James St. John – https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/33229612163/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96284794

Calcite

Calcite crystals Gibraltar Island Lake Erie Ohio

Sunlit Silurian calcite from Put-in-Bay in Ohio on Lake Erie.

Photo By James St. John – https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/50588186197/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96284996

Calcite is found throughout Ohio in different forms as granular aggregates in black shale in eastern and central Ohio, and as crystal and granular aggregates in Western Ohio.

The name calcite comes from a Greek word meaning lime. This comes from its chemical component, Calcium Carbonate, which sometimes is mistakenly known as “lime.” Calcite is known in more than 300 forms of crystals. The scalenohedral crystals of Calcite, one of its most common varieties, ordinarily are known as “dogtooth spar” or “dogtooth calcite” because of their resemblance to a dog’s canine tooth. Another variety, transparent rhombohedral calcite, is used in optical equipment. Although they are not specific varieties of calcite, stalactites, stalagmites and other formations found in caverns are made of calcite.

Calcite is one of the most common minerals, making up about 4% by weight of the Earth’s crust. Calcite is common as vein fillings in many rocks in western and central Ohio. Silurian dolomites in northwestern Ohio yield clusters of large crystals ranging from clear to dark brown. Many have a golden color.

Crystals and granular aggregates in cavities and fractures of dolostones and limestones in western Ohio; granular aggregates commonly form veins in dolostone concretions and less commonly in ironstone concretions from black shales in central and eastern Ohio; more rare as an efflorescence.

Calcite (CaCO3) is a soft carbonate mineral that occurs in various colors, including white, yellow, brown, gray, black, and pink, and also can be colorless. Calcite is a common mineral that occurs primarily in limestone and dolostone, occasionally in concretions and rarely as an efflorescence.

The Romans made concrete by mixing lime and volcanic ash to create a pozzolanic reaction. If this was mixed with volcanic tuff and placed under seawater, the seawater hydrated the lime in an exothermic reaction that solidified the mixture.

Aragonite

vug with aragonite east central ohio

Vug with aragonite crystals in arenaceous, ferruginous, fossiliferous limestone from Ohio

Photo By James St. John – Vug with aragonite crystals in arenaceous, ferruginous, fossiliferous limestone (Vinton Member, Logan Formation, Lower Mississippian; Mt. Calvary Cemetery Outcrop – Rt. 13 roadcut, Heath, east-central Ohio, USA) 3, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82971990

With a name that sounds like a heroic character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, but originates from the territory of Aragon in Spain, aragonite is one of the three most common forms of calcium carbonate. Its crystal lattice differs from calcite, one of the other common forms of calcium carbonate. It has a host of industrial uses. Aragonite has been found in Coshocton County.

Celestite

Celestite Crystals inside Crystal Cave on South Bass Island

Crystal Cave is a small cave in Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie in Ohio touted as the world’s largest geode. An abundance of large, well-formed crystals of celestite cover the walls. The cave was originally mined for its strontium content, but enough nice crystals still remain to keep the site open as a show cave.

Photo by James St. John – Celestite (Crystal Cave, South Bass Island, Lake Erie, Ohio, USA) 16, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82969277

A soft sulfate mineral ore of strontium, in fact being the most common mineral that contains strontium. Celestite derived strontium is used industrially in fireworks, ceramic magnets, and toothpaste

Ohio is famous for having some of the best celestite deposits in the world. The mineral is found in 11 counties. The northwestern regions of Ohio amid the Findlay Arch produce celestite ranging in color from white to pale blue. The area of Serpent Mound southwestern Ohio also produces some celestite due to an unusual geological occurrence. South Bass Island is a huge vug filled with very large celestite crystals.

Quartz

Geode with sphalerite barite dolomite and quartz Monroe County Ohio

Close-up of a Monroe County, Ohio geode with sphalerite, barite, dolomite and quartz.

Photo by James St. John – Geode with sphalerite, barite, dolomite, and quartz (Monroe County, Ohio, USA) 2, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84692026

What can’t you not say about quartz? It is a hard silicate in the form of silicon dioxide. It’s useful in glassmaking, watchmaking, ceramics, metal casting, electronics, and the petroleum industry. But the enduring love it receives is because of it’s beauty and variety: rose quartz, lavender quartz, blue quartz, rutilated quartz, citrine, amethyst, enhydro quartz, prasiolite, ametrine and a variety of shapes including points, needles, and clusters.

In Ohio, quartz is found in flint beds in Coshocton, Licking, and Muskingum Counties; in Adams and Highland Counties; in septarian limestone concretions in the central portion of the state; and loose in streambeds and creeks in the Southeast.

Fluorite

Ohio Fluorite

An example of Ohio Fluorite from Stoneco Auglaize quarry (Maumee Stone County quarry), Junction, Paulding County, Ohio.

A 1.2 cm colorless cube with well-centered, distinct, rich purple color “phantom” inside. The crystal has very sharp faces and excellent gemminess. It sits upon a small amount of Dolostone matrix

Photo by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10148353

Fluorite is a another name for calcium fluoride, a halide ore mineral of fluorine. It’s has several industrials uses including as a flux for removing impurities in the manufacture of steel and in the production of fluorine gas which itself is used in the refining of uranium.

While fluorite is found across the world, the quality and largest quantities are mined out of Europe and North America. In Ohio fluorite is found in 19 counties. Typically cubic crystals found in dolostones in northwestern Ohio particularly along the edges of the Findlay Arch and occasionally in the Serpent Mound area.

Some fluorite is UV reactive, fluorescing under exposure. Because of this property, it and it’s compounds are used to manufacture synthetic crystals with applications in laser and special UV and infrared optics.

Dolomite

Put-in-Bay Dolomite South Bass Island, Lake Erie,Ohio

Ohio Dolostone. In the past Dolomite was used to refer to both the mineral and the rock. Dolomite is now used to refer to the mineral and dolostone refers to sedimentary rock whose primary content is dolomite.

Photo By James St. John – Put-in-Bay Dolomite over Tymochtee Dolomite (Upper Silurian; South Bass Island, Lake Erie, Ohio, USA) 6, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82969360

What relationship does Ohio have with a nineteenth century french geologist? The answer in one word is Dolomite! Named after Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, Dolomite is found in over 19 Ohio counties. Dolomite differs from limestone in that it contains both calcium and magnesium.

More well known as an Indiana mineral, especially the Corydon area, this calcium magnesium carbonate occurs in small crystals in western Ohio and along the Huron river among other areas.

Dolomite has industrial uses including as a source of magnesium salts like magnesia and by builders as structural and ornamental stone.

The term dolomite used to refer both to the mineral dolomite and dolostone (a sedimentary rock of which is made primarily of dolomite).

Barite

Fluorite and barite (quarry in Marblehead Peninsula, far-northern Ohio

Fluorite and barite from Marblehead Peninsula Ohio

Photo By James St. John – Fluorite and barite (quarry in Marblehead Peninsula, far-northern Ohio, USA), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40022633

Found in over 26 counties in Ohio, this Barium Sulfate mineral often associated with calcite and other minerals is often white or colorless but can also have light blues, greys, yellows or browns. In the central and eastern Ohio black shale formations barite is found in concretions such as limestone, ironstone and pyrite. In the northwestern and southwestern Ohio crystalline or granular barite can be found in fractures and cavitiesof dolostones (dolomite sedimentary rock).

Barite is the primary ore for barium, and has varied industrial uses including paper, paint and glass manufacture as well medical radiology (as a dye) and in oil drilling.

Barites crystals found in Ohio can sometimes be massive in size.

Malachite

Malachite,Zaire

Malachite – sadly from Zaire and not Ohio

Photo By JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7515677

Typically found in botryoidal, stalagmitic, or fibrous masses, beautiful green malachite is collectible, and displayable.

It was a little hard to believe that malachite is found in Ohio, but according to the state it actually is present. Since it’s a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral it obviously needs copper to be present to form, and I did find a reference to a copper mine in Cuyahoga county.

Pyrite

Pyrite snake concretion Ohio Shale Upper Devonian creek cut in Ross County, southern Ohio, USA

Pyrite

Photo By James St. John – Pyrite snake concretion (Ohio Shale, Upper Devonian; creek cut in Ross County, southern Ohio, USA) 8, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84692435

Iron Pyrite, commonly known as “fool’s gold”, is metallic iron sulfide mineral found in over 88 Ohio counties, typically in Devonian or Pennsylvanian shales. Pyrite has been used as an ore for sulfur and a source of iron.

The most common sulfide mineral, pyrite can form form in extremely well-crystallized examples of cubes, pyritohedrons, and octahedrons.

Sphalerite

Sphalerite on dolostone Millersville Quarry, Sandusky County, Ohio

Sphalerite crystals atop sucrosic dolostone from Sandusky County, Ohio

Photo by James St. John – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/31282767801/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101721070

Sphalerite is a sulfide mineral that is an ore of zinc, cadmium, gallium, germanium, and indium. It has a wide variety of colors including light/dark brown, red-brown, yellow, red, green, light blue, black, and colorless. It occurs in the Findlay Arch area, near Serpent Mound, and in Eastern Ohio.

Smithsonite

example of smithsonite

Illustrative example of smithsonite – sadly, not from Ohio. This example is from the Kelley Mine in Soccorro County, New Mexico.

Photo by Bureau of Mines – http://libraryphoto.cr.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/show_picture.cgi?ID=ID.%20BOM%20Mineral%20Specimens%20016, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1825549

Smithsonite is named after English geologist and chemist James Smithson. Also known as zinc spar, this form of mineral zinc carbonate is a variably colored trigonal mineral.

Special Mention: Fossils

While not minerals, it would be unforgivable to not mention Ohio’s rich treasure trove of minerals. The greater Cincinnati area (which includes parts of northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana) sits atop what is known as the Cincinnati Arch, the eroded remains of a mountain range from Michigan to Alabama that was thrust up by collision of two ancient continents. The arch sank beneath a series of shallow inland seas filled with marine life ending up as deposits of fossils in what is known to geologists as the Cincinnatian Epoch.

The region is famous for a wide variety of marine fossils, but particularly Trilobites, a now extinct member of the arthropod family.

Phacops rana,Silica,Ohio

Example of Ohio Eldredgeops rana fossil

Photo by Daderot – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83993913

Graftonoceras – limonite-stained external mold of nautiloid in dolostone

Photo By James St. John – Graftonoceras fossil nautiloid (Lockport Dolomite, Middle Silurian; Coldwater, southern Mercer County, western Ohio, USA), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36833417

Graftonoceras fossil nautiloid (Lockport Dolomite, Middle Silurian;Coldwater,southern Mercer County).
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Ever Popular Ever Beautiful Rose Quartz

Of all the variety of minerals and crystals, perhaps the most beloved and widely collected is quartz. Named from the old Saxon word querklufterz meaning ‘cross vein ore’, it is popular with collectors, healers, artists, craftsmen, and people just looking for beautiful jewelry or items to display in their home. Quartz has something for everyone: a startling variety of colors; beautiful geometrically precise crystals; crystals ranging in size from druzy to monumental; strange and fantastical interior minerals such as hematite. Quartz is also the most abundant mineral on our planet.

Pure quartz is a colorless form of silicon dioxide, but there is a wide variety of both colored quartz and minerals that are not commonly understood to be a variety of quartz, such as amethyst, citrine, praseolite, chalcedony, and herkimer diamonds. Many of these varieties derive their color from impurities. Amethyst, for example owes its purple color to a combination of iron impurities trapped in the crystal along with holes in its structure from missing elections. Gray quartz similarly has missing electrons, but instead of iron impurities, it has aluminum impurities. Aside from color, quartz is usually grouped based on the size of the size of individual crystals or grains. If the individual crystal is too small to see using the naked eye, then the crystal is referred to as being cryptocrystalline quartz. If you can use your unaided eye to see the crystal, then it is classified as macrocrystalline quartz.

Rose quartz is a popular macrocrystalline form of quartz best know for its solid masses, beautiful glassy luster and translucent, even, milky pink color. The source of the color is still not well understood. One theory argues that it is due minor impurities such as titanium, manganese or even colloidal gold. The other theory argues that color comes from microscopic mineral fibers of dumortierite inside the rose quartz. Some examples exhibit asterism – a star effect when looking at the mineral from a particular angle when light is shone upon it. In general, rose quartz does not form crystals like you see with other forms of quartz.

Its delicate color has inspired art in other mediums including this glass vase on at the Chrysler Museum, and has its own color listing in the Pantone color library. Man has worked with the material back into antiquity. Beads made of the material have been discovered in the near east. The Chinese, particularly during the Qing dynasty, used the material for carvings. It was crafted in Latin America, and India as well.

Rose Quartz Vase

18th Century, Chinese, Qing Dynasty

Rose Quartz and Gold Double Bird Pendant
8th–12th century Coclé (Macaracas)

From Panama

Dagger (Jambiya)
18th century
Indian, Mughal

Steel, ivory (walrus), silver, ruby, rose quartz

Rose quartz was believed by the Romans, Egyptians and Greeks to be a useful talisman, and the Romans carved it into ownership seals. It was known during medieval times as the love stone, and the Chinese valued it’s properties in the practice of Feng Shui. Given the strong and ancient beliefs that the stone had special properties , it is no surprise that a strong literature has arisen around the material in modern times discussing metaphysical, healing, Reiki, or other spiritual properties of the material.

Ring, filigree with rose quartz

Greek or Roman, from Cyprus

Rose Quartz continues to inspire people, even in modern times. It’s a name given to a character in the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe. In the show, Steven is half-human and half “gem”, a type of ageless alien warrior that project human like forms from the gemstones in their core. Steven inherits his half “gem” lineage from his full-gem mother, Rose Quartz.

Rose Quartz (right), Steven Universe’s mother from the Cartoon Network show “Steven Universe”

By Hilary Florido, Katie Mitroff and Rebecca Sugar (authors); Cartoon Network / Time Warner (copyright owners) – Own screenshot, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50775788

Rose quartz is found today in southern Africa (Madagascar, South Africa, and Namibia) as well as Brazil (Bahia and Minas Gerais) and interestingly, South Dakota.

There is a second variety of quartz sometimes grouped under the name rose quartz, but also referred to as pink crystalline quartz or crystalline rose quartz or even just pink quartz. This variety is much rarer, forms beautiful crystals and the best examples hail from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil.

For your own rose crystal display piece or healing stone check out Georarities’ selection of rose quartz crystals for sale.

Flower holder with pomegranate

18th Century, Chinese, Qing Dynasty

Snuff Bottle with Floral Design
late 18th century
China, Qing Dynasty

Aquamarine with Rose Quartz Topper

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Beautiful Collectible Kentucky Agate

Borden Formation Lower Mississippian Eastern Kentucky Agate

Located in east-central near the town of Irvine is Knob’s Region, a “u” shaped arc extending for nearly 230 miles that is home to Kentucky agate, the officially designated state rock of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Highly collectible, Kentucky agate is a beautiful form of agate particularly known for it’s deep red and black hues.

Agate is typically a chalcedony (silicon dioxide) variety of fine or microcrystalline quartz nodule or concretion that may contain banding, mottled or variegated coloring. While most agates from in igneous rocks, Kentucky agate is one of the rare exception that forms in sedimentary rocks, a list which also includes Montana agates and Fairburn agates in the Black Hills.

Kentucky agate tends to be prone to cracking, finding quality specimens without cracks tends to be a challenge, making specimens used in jewelry that are free of the cracks particularly prized, collectible and expensive.

We offer a wide variety of both agates and Kentucky agates for sale on our website, and we have an even wider selection in our studio/gallery including the beautiful black and red pendant below which is our own creation .

Rare Red on Black Kentucky Agate Pendant with Dragon on Reverse KYA2-#KYA2-1

Kentucky Agate is often used in jewelry such as this beautiful Red on Black Kentucky Agate Pendant. Note the micro cracks in the stone which is common with this variety of agate due to how it forms.

Agate nodule displaying reds, blacks and yellows. Note the micro cracks. From Estil or Powell County, Kentucky. Photo By James St. John – Agate (Borden Formation, Lower Mississippian; eastern Kentucky, USA) 6, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82926380

Agate nodule from Kentucky with dark reds, orange, black and whites. Photo by James St. John – Agate (Borden Formation, Lower Mississippian; eastern Kentucky, USA) 12, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82926386

Agate nodule from Kentucky, USA, photo By James St. John – Agate (Borden Formation, Lower Mississippian; eastern Kentucky, USA) 13, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82926390

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What Do Bastille Day and Crystallography Have in Common?

The Storming of the Bastille

July 14, celebrated every year in France as Bastille Day, commemorates the storming and seizure of the notorious medieval armory, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. It was a major event during the French Revolution, and it’s celebration in Paris includes one of the oldest and largest military parades in Europe. The actual storming of the Bastille has an unlikely connection to crystallography.

Why the Bastille was stormed is rather complicated, but the immediate cause was dismissal from the French Royal Government of one Jacques Necker, a Swiss born Genevan banker who to serve as finance minister for French King Louis XVI, the French monarch who was to famously lose his head by guillotine, along with his wife Marie Antoinette. Necker became a very popular figure among the people of France, not least of for his public release of state budget, the first time this had happened in France. At the time, France was staggering unders a complex series of misfortunes, poor policy, and bad financial decisions. Having lost a series of wars against the United Kingdom during the preceding century, in revenge France chose to back the American Revolution, both financially and with direct military aid and forces but the cost of this victory was crushing. Overpopulation, drought, and incompetant advisors brought the state’s finances to the brink. Necker, a rising star well known for financial competance was brought in to stabilize the situation. His relationship to the monarch and his other ministers was turbulent and Necker moved in and out of government positions repeatedly, finally as finance minister. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to salvage the situation. His firing in 1798 triggered crowds to storm the Bastille releasing the few prisoners being held there.

Necker navigated the turbulence of the subsequent Revolution and the Napoleonic era in his native Switzerland. His nephew, also named Jacques married a Albertine Necker de Saussure. a prominent biologist and the two cared for his uncle in his later years. The couple had a son named Louis Albert Necker de Saussure. Louis studied Geology in Geneva, and later Chemistry at Edinburgh University in Scotland. He studied the geology of Scotland and produced the first geological map of Scotland. Ill health compelled Necker to give up mineral collecting. He settled permanently in Scotland become something of a recluse on the Island of Skye.

Necker’s collection of fossils and minerals was donated to the Musée Académique between 1842 and 1845, following his mother’s death and his retreat to Skye. The collection is housed in two departments, the fossils in the Department of Geology and Paleontology and the minerals in the Department of Mineralogy and Petrography. His 650 fossils are kept as a separate collection. Nearly all are from around Geneva and probably collected by Necker or his students. About 400 mineral samples are identifiable as Necker’s in the MHNG mineralogy collection database.

Necker is best know for the Necker Cube, an optical illusion showing a 2D view of a 3D wire wire framed cube. Necker observed that the ambiguous cubic shape could spontaneously switch perspective, writing “The object I have now to call your attention to, is an observation… which has often occurred to me while examining figures and engraved plates of crystalline forms: I mean a sudden and involuntary change in apparent position of a crystal or solid represented in an engraved figure”.

Necker cube on the left, impossible cube on the right.
By Gauravjuvekar – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17057834

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Gorgeous Yellow Brucite Crystal

Yellow brucite (4.0 × 3.0 × 2.5 cm) from Killa Saifullah, Balochistan, Pakistan.

Brucite is the mineral form of magnesium hydroxide named in 1824 by François Sulpice Beudant for its discoverer, American minerologist and chemist Archibald Bruce. Colors vary and may include light blue, milky white, or lemon yellow. It crystals typically have a fibrous body what could be described as a chalky or pearly luster. The structure of the mineral is maintained only weakly, making the it fragile. It is also know for shearing into perfectly flat sheets due to its crystal cleavages laying parallel to their plates.

Brucite is common, but excellent examples are hard to come by. Notable finds include in Wood’s Chrome Mine in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania as well as in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Recently there was a major discovery of brucite yielding beautiful and rare yellow and lemon-yellow specimens, some of which are startlingly and gorgeously transparent. Because the mineral is so fragile it is usually mined by hand

Besides collecting it is used as a source of magnesium and in some flame retardantion applications.

View our collection of brucite available for purchase

Image Credit: Yellow brucite (4.0 × 3.0 × 2.5 cm) from Killa Saifullah, Balochistan, Pakistan. By Ivar Leidus – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98529310

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Beautiful Green Dioptase / Schöne grüne Dioptase / 美しい緑の翠銅鉱

Dioptase Locality: Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia. Pristine and perfect all around. Erik Louw was a miner on the dioptase stope who traded extensively and accumulated one of the finest Tsumeb miniatures collections, purchased in entirety by the Sussmans in the late 1990's. 4 x 4 x 1 cm

Beautiful Green Dioptase

Dioptase is an unusual mineral that is highly desired for its intense Emerald green color.  It is a copper cyclosilicate mineral that varies from transparent to translucent.  Very popular with mineral collectors he can be cut into small gems are also ground up and used as a pigment for painting.  Dioptase typically forms as a secondary mineral and copper deposits created through the weathering and oxidation of the primary minerals in either limestone or calcite formations.  It may be associated with other cupric minerals like malachite, chryscolla, and azurite.  It is a trigonal mineral which forms six-sided crystals that termine in rhombohedra.

Dioptase is uncommon and usually found in desert regions . Within the United States, deposits are mostly restricted to the state of Arizona. Globally Kazakhstan and in particular the Tsumeb mine in Namibia produce some of the best examples of this mineral.  Dioptase is also found in Congo and then Argentina in South America.  Better examples of this mineral can be quite costly.

Dioptase with calcite and minrecordite - Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia (5.5x4cm)
Dioptase with calcite and minrecordite – Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia (5.5x4cm)Dioptase mit Calcit und Minrecordit – Tsumeb-Mine (Tsumcorp-Mine), Tsumeb, Region Otjikoto (Oshikoto), Namibia (5,5 x 4 cm)方解石とミンレコーダイトを含む翠銅鉱-ツメブ鉱山(ツメブ鉱山)、ツメブ、オシコト(オシコト)地域、ナミビア(5.5x4cm)By Didier Descouens – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8876953

In modern times dioptase was discovered at the end of the 18th century in the Central Asian steppes in Kazakhstan. The Russian mineralogist’s who discovered it confused it four form of emerald.  Despite having a similar color to emeralds dioptase actually has different optical and physical properties which differ enough the gemologists can easily distinguish one from the other.  Dioptase has been discovered to have been used to decorate plaster statues dating back to before 7000 BC.

Dioptase dust is toxic due to its copper content an accidental ingestion can lead to serious problems. Jewelers and fasteners should wear protective masks and ideally use a glove box to avoid inhaling or ingesting particles during the cutting polishing and cleaning processes. Finish pieces however typically pose no hazard.  Because of the cleavage pattern impossible fractures dioptase is should usually be cleaned with a mild detergent warm water and a soft brush.  Dioptase in general tends to be very fragile and specimens should be handled with great care.

Dioptase, Baryte, Plancheite Locality: Kaokoveld Plateau, Kunene Region, Namibia Size: 3.8 x 3.1 x 1.4 cm. A little orange barite perched atop! The central dioptase is 1.3 cm and pristine. The one on the edge is larger, but incomplete at its edge.
Dioptase, Baryte, Plancheite Locality: Kaokoveld Plateau, Kunene Region, Namibia Size: 3.8 x 3.1 x 1.4 cm. A little orange barite perched atop! The central dioptase is 1.3 cm and pristine. The one on the edge is larger, but incomplete at its edge.Dioptase, Baryt, Plancheite Lokalität: Kaokoveld-Plateau, Kunene-Region, Namibia Größe: 3,8 x 3,1 x 1,4 cm. Ein kleiner orangefarbener Baryt thront oben drauf! Die zentrale Dioptase ist 1,3 cm groß und makellos. Der am Rand ist größer, aber am Rand unvollständig.翠銅鉱、重晶石、プランヘ石産地:ナミビア、クネネ地方、カオコベルド高原サイズ:3.8 x 3.1 x1.4cm。 小さなオレンジ色の重晶石が上に腰掛けています! 中央の翠銅鉱は1.3cmで手付かずの状態です。 端にあるものは大きいですが、端が不完全です。By Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10175913

Learn more about the physical characteristics and crystallography of dioptase at mindat.

We carry a selection of fine specimens of Tsumeb dioptase for sale. Click hear for more information.

Auf Deutsch – Schöne grüne Dioptase

Dioptase ist ein ungewöhnliches Mineral, das wegen seiner intensiven smaragdgrünen Farbe sehr begehrt ist. Es ist ein Kupfercyclosilikatmineral, das von transparent bis durchscheinend variiert. Sehr beliebt bei Mineraliensammlern kann er in kleine Edelsteine ​​geschnitten werden, die ebenfalls gemahlen und als Pigment zum Malen verwendet werden. Dioptase bildet sich typischerweise als sekundäres Mineral und Kupferablagerungen, die durch Verwitterung und Oxidation der primären Mineralien in Kalkstein- oder Calcitformationen entstehen. Es kann mit anderen Kupfermineralien wie Malachit, Chrysokoll und Azurit assoziiert sein. Es ist ein trigonales Mineral, das sechsseitige Kristalle bildet, die in Rhomboedern enden.

Dioptase ist ungewöhnlich und kommt normalerweise in Wüstenregionen vor. In den Vereinigten Staaten sind die Einlagen meist auf den Bundesstaat Arizona beschränkt. Weltweit produzieren Kasachstan und insbesondere die Tsumeb-Mine in Namibia einige der besten Beispiele für dieses Mineral. Dioptase kommt auch im Kongo und dann in Argentinien in Südamerika vor. Bessere Beispiele für dieses Mineral können sehr kostspielig sein.

In der Neuzeit wurde Dioptase Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts in den zentralasiatischen Steppen in Kasachstan entdeckt. Die russischen Mineralogisten, die es entdeckten, verwirrten es mit vier Formen von Smaragd. Obwohl Dioptase eine ähnliche Farbe wie Smaragde aufweist, weist sie tatsächlich unterschiedliche optische und physikalische Eigenschaften auf, die sich so stark unterscheiden, dass die Gemmologen sie leicht voneinander unterscheiden können. Es wurde entdeckt, dass Dioptase zur Dekoration von Gipsstatuen aus der Zeit vor 7000 v. Chr. Verwendet wurde.

Dioptasestaub ist aufgrund seines Kupfergehalts giftig. Eine versehentliche Einnahme kann zu ernsthaften Problemen führen. Juweliere und Befestiger sollten Schutzmasken tragen und idealerweise ein Handschuhfach verwenden, um das Einatmen oder Einnehmen von Partikeln während des Polier- und Reinigungsprozesses zu vermeiden. Endstücke stellen jedoch normalerweise keine Gefahr dar. Aufgrund des Spaltmusters sollten unmögliche Frakturen der Dioptase normalerweise mit einem milden Reinigungsmittel, warmem Wasser und einer weichen Bürste gereinigt werden. Dioptase neigt im Allgemeinen dazu, sehr zerbrechlich zu sein, und Proben sollten mit großer Sorgfalt behandelt werden.

Erfahren Sie mehr über die physikalischen Eigenschaften und die Kristallographie der Dioptase bei mindat.

Wir führen eine Auswahl feiner Exemplare der Tsumeb-Dioptase zum Verkauf. Klicken Sie hier für weitere Informationen..

日本語で -美しい緑の翠銅鉱

翠銅鉱は、その強烈なエメラルドグリーンの色のために非常に望まれている珍しい鉱物です。これは、透明から半透明まで変化する銅シクロシリケート鉱物です。鉱物収集家に非常に人気があり、小さな宝石にカットすることもできます。粉砕して、絵画の顔料として使用します。翠銅鉱は通常、石灰岩または方解石層のいずれかで一次鉱物の風化と酸化によって生成される二次鉱物と銅の堆積物として形成されます。マラカイト、クリスコラ、アズライトなどの他の第二銅鉱物と関連している可能性があります。菱面体で終端する6面結晶を形成する三方晶系鉱物です。

翠銅鉱はまれであり、通常は砂漠地帯で見られます。米国内では、預金は主にアリゾナ州に制限されています。世界的にカザフスタン、特にナミビアのツメブ鉱山は、この鉱物の最良の例のいくつかを生産しています。翠銅鉱は、南米のコンゴ、次にアルゼンチンでも見られます。この鉱物のより良い例はかなり費用がかかる可能性があります。

現代では、18世紀の終わりにカザフスタンの中央アジアの草原で翠銅鉱が発見されました。それを発見したロシアの鉱物学者は、それを4つの形のエメラルドと混同しました。エメラルドに似た色をしているにもかかわらず、翠銅鉱は実際には異なる光学的および物理的特性を持っており、宝石学者は簡単に区別することができます。翠銅鉱は、紀元前7000年以前にさかのぼる石膏像を飾るために使用されていたことが発見されました。

翠銅鉱の粉塵は銅含有量が原因で有毒であり、誤って摂取すると深刻な問題を引き起こす可能性があります。宝石商と留め具は保護マスクを着用し、理想的にはグローブボックスを使用して、切削研磨および洗浄プロセス中に粒子を吸い込んだり摂取したりしないようにする必要があります。ただし、仕上げ部品は通常、危険をもたらしません。劈開パターンが不可能なため、翠銅鉱は通常、中性洗剤の温水と柔らかいブラシで洗浄する必要があります。一般に翠銅鉱は非常に壊れやすい傾向があり、検体は細心の注意を払って取り扱う必要があります。

mindatで翠銅鉱の物理的特性と結晶学についてもっと学びましょう。

ツメブ翠銅鉱の厳選された標本を販売しています。 詳細については、ここをクリックしてください。

Top Image Credit: Dioptase Locality: Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia A startlingly sculptural specimen! Pristine and perfect all around. Erik Louw was a miner on the dioptase stope who traded extensively and accumulated one of the finest Tsumeb miniatures collections, purchased in entirety by the Sussmans in the late 1990’s. 4 x 4 x 1 cm Dioptase-Lokalität: Tsumeb-Mine (Tsumcorp-Mine), Tsumeb, Region Otjikoto (Oshikoto), Namibia Ein erstaunlich skulpturales Exemplar! Rundum makellos und perfekt. Erik Louw war ein Bergmann auf der Dioptase-Station, der ausgiebig handelte und eine der besten Tsumeb-Miniaturensammlungen sammelte, die Ende der 90er Jahre vollständig von den Sussmans gekauft wurden. 4 x 4 x 1 cm 翠銅鉱産地:ナミビア、ツメブ鉱山(ツメブ鉱山)、オシコト地方、ツメブ驚くべき彫刻標本! 手付かずで完璧です。 Erik Louwは、1990年代後半にサスマンによって完全に購入された、ツメブの最高のミニチュアコレクションの1つを幅広く取引し、蓄積した翠銅鉱の鉱夫でした。 4 x 4 x 1 cm By Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10109320

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Beautiful Bejeweled Amethyst’s History as an Art Medium

Amethyst intaglio portrait of Julius Caesar, Roman, 50-40 B.C.E.

The February birthstone is amethyst. A form of non-fluorescing hard stone quartz whose typically purple shading comes from irradiation of iron or transition element impurities, amethyst was once considered one of the cardinal, or most valuable, gemstones. Occasionally exhibiting secondary shades of blue or red, the beautiful stone is highly popular among mineral collectors, crystal healers, art lovers, lapidaries. While not considered as valuable as it once was due to recent discoveries of large deposits of the mineral, amethyst often produces stunning jewelry.

Traditionally most carved gemstones in the west are a form of quartz, the carving techniques adopted for quartz also apply to amethyst. Amethyst deposits have been found on almost every continent and it’s availability was a key factor in it’s popularity as a carving medium of artisans in antiquity. Deposits have been found in Brazil, Uruguay, Austria, Russia, Zambia, and Korea, as well the eastern and southern areas of the United States, including Texas, North Carolina, and the Lake Superior Region.

Amethysts was carved and treasured by cultures such as those of Japan, Iran, Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Anglo-Saxons and others. Different cultures each put their own spin on the importance, meaning and value of the stone. It was highly treasured by Russian Empress Catherine who sent thousands of miners into the Ural mountains seeking the gemstone. In ancient Rome, the purple color of the gem was associated with the purple color reserved for the elite and the emperor. The medieval Catholic church’s bishops prized amethyst’s color. The ancient Egyptians worked the material into amulets for protection against harm. Moses the prophet is said to have described amethyst as representing the spirit of god. The ancient Greeks believed the stone offered protection from drunkenness. The Tibetans created rosaries from the stone and considered it sacred to Buddha. Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that amethyst quickened intelligence and dissipated evil thoughts. The Anglo-Saxons fashioned beads, while was used for intaglio.

In this article we present a visual tour of the different ways amethyst has been used in art, both ancient, antique, and modern.

Amethyst intaglio portrait of Julius Caesar, Roman, 50-40 B.C.E.

Amethyst intaglio portrait of Julius Caesar, Roman, 50-40 B.C.E.

Byzantine Jeweled Bracelet of gold, silver, pearls, amethyst, sapphire, glass, quartz, 500-700 C.E.

Byzantine Jeweled Bracelet of gold, silver, pearls, amethyst, sapphire, glass, quartz
1st Century Greek or Roman Amethyst Oval

1st Century Greek or Roman Amethyst Oval

Frankish Disk Brooch, c. 550-650 B.C.E. with Amethyst Jewel

Amethyst, Copper, Gold and Silver Frankish Disk Brooch, 550-650 C.E.
American Brooch by Theodore B. Starr, 1900, Amethyst, Gold, Garnet, Enamel

Amethyst, Garnet, Gold and Enamel Brooch by Theodore B. Starr, American, 1900

Egyptian Amethyst Scarab, Middle Kingdom, ca. 1981–1950 B.C. The scarab beetle was a potent symbol of creation and regeneration among the ancient Egyptians.

Egyptian Amethyst Scarab, Middle Kingdom, 1981-1950 B.C.E.
Chinese Amethyst Qing Dynasty Seal, Late 19th-early 20th Century

Chinese Qing Dynasty Amethyst , Late 19th – Early 20th Century

Chinese Qing Dynasty Snuff Bottle of White, Green and Brown Jadeite with Amethyst Stopper, Qianlong Period (1736-1795)

Chinese Qing Dynasty Snuff Bottle of White, Green, and Brown Jadeite with Amethyst Quartz Stopper 1736-95
Spanish Clip Earrings, mid-19ths Century, Gold, Metal and Amethyst

Mid-19th Century Avant-Garde Spanish Clip Earrings, Amethyst, Silver, Metal

We may not have antique carvings, but you can check out our lovely collection of amethyst for sale.

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Short Crystal: Quartz and the Fossilized Bird

Photograph of the holotype of Zhouornis hani, a type of Enantiornithes

A recent study in Frontiers in Earth Science reveals that researchers discovered quartz crystals in the stomach of a bird that lived alongside the dinosaurs. The bird, a member of the Enantiornithes clade of fossil birds, appeared to be a sensational discovery, as previously there had never been a find which preserved any traces of food in the fossils stomach which would clue researchers in to the diet of the animal. Many modern birds have what’s called a gizzard, a thick and muscular portion of the stomach used to help digest food. Often birds swallow small stones know as gizzard stones, which make their way to the gizzard itself where it helps to crush tough or difficult to digest food. These stones are know as gastroliths and have been found in some dino and bird fossils providing hints as to the diet of those animals. The presense of stones in the stomach, though isn’t defiinitive as to the purpose of the stones. There are some modern birtds of prey that swallow rocks to help move material through their digestive tract, cleaning it out, and it’s hard to differentiate between a gastrolith and a gastrolith that is a gizzard stone without knowing anything about the diet and habits of the animal using the stone. In the end, the reesearchers determined that the quart material found where the birds stomach would have been probably was a gastrolight at all. After exposing the supposed gastroliths to X-rays and a scanning electron microscope it was determined that the rocks were actually chalcedony crystals, quartz that grew in sedimentary rocks. There is evidence of chalcedony crystals forming with a clamshell, or replacing minerals in fossil bones. Furthermore, the crystals in this case were all connected in a thin sheet rather than separate rocks. The rocks were also much larger than would be expected of rocks swallowed by a bird that size. In the end there just wasn’t enough evidence, and some negative evidence against the idea that the rocks were in the birds stomach. Just goes to show, never count your gastroliths before they’s been swallowed.

We don’t have any examples of Enantiornithes, but you can check our our collection of fossils for sale here.

Top image is a photograph of the holotype of Zhouornis hani, a type of Enantiornithes,
By Yuguang Zhang, Jingmai O’Connor, Liu Di, Meng Qingjin, Trond Sigurdsen, Luis M. Chiappe​ – https://peerj.com/articles/407/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33060650

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This Week’s Mineral Spotlight: Gorgeous Green Malachite

Malachite from Zaire

If the mineral is green and gorgeous there is a good chance it’s malachite. Like its copper cousins Turquoise, Azurite, and Chrysocolla, Malachite is found in copper deposits. It first became useful to humans as an ore used by the ancients to produce copper metal. Today, its primary use is decorative: bracelets, necklaces, pendants, as a gemstone and cabochon, and other types of jewelry. It’s also popular as a tumbled stone and as a standout display specimen for rock and mineral collections.

North American deposits include Mexican deposits in Milpillas; American deposits in Bisbee, Morenci, Bingham Canyon and others; African deposits in Namibia, Gabon, Zambia, Uganda, and The Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire). Russia was at a one a major source of Malachite, particularly gem quality stones, however most of these deposits have been mined out and eclipsed by the quantity and quality of the African deposits. African mines product spectacular massive malachite specimens as well as gem quality malachite, and plancheite, cuprite and carrollite are also present in these deposits.

Malachite from a Smelter's Crucible

Malachite from a Smelter’s Crucible, Egyptian, Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, ca. 1479–1458 B.C., 18th Dynasty

Copper deposit don’t typically yield huge amounts of malachite. Previously, Russia was the only significant source of a large volume of gem-grade malachite, but as the Russian mines have declined and the African mines became available the African finds have far exceeded Russian production. African banded layers malachite is sometimes over a foot thick with very tightly packed submicroscopic needle crystals. Since the opening of the African mines, the mineral market has great cutting-grade malachite with bands of very light green to almost black- green.

Malachite was well known to the ancients.  It’s Latin name, “Molchitis” derives from the Greek “molochites lithos” whose meaning is “mallow green stone” due to the mineral’s resemblance to the mallow plant’s leaves.  Some evidence exists o Malachite mining in Britain at the Great Orme Mines perhaps as far back as the 3rd and 4th millenia B.C. There is also archaeological evidence of Malachite mining and smelting to produce copper 3,000 years ago in the Timna Valley, associated with King Solomon’s Mines in modern day Israel, where it is still mined to today to produce copper. 

Lapidary, work with malachite requires a facemask. The copper carbonate dust from Malachite is poisonous. Most lapidaries use water to cut down on the dust in the air. Undercutting is often a problem during polishing, since each malachite band has a slightly different Mohs hardness, however experienced lapidaries shouldn’t have a problem. Banded malachite is always beautiful no matter how it is used.

Qing Chinese Malachite Carving, Late 18th – Early 19th Century. Seated Luohan With Servant

Above is an outstanding example of carved malachite. A Qing era Chinese art work originating in the late 19th through early 20th century, it depicts a seated luohan, or one who has achieved enlightenment. This particular luohan is identified as Nakula who sits in meditation with a rosary; a boy-servant attends at his feet. From his long eyebrows and position beneath a tree. Carved writing in the upper right corner is a poem of praise for Nakula in the upper right was authored by the Jiaqing emperor (r. 1796–1820) and inscribed in the hand of his elder brother Yongxing (1752–1823).

Malachite Monumental Vase

French Monumental Malachite Vase. Lapidary Work Early 19th Century, Pedestal And Mounts By Pierre Phillippe Thomire

The monumental vase above is crafted from Russian malachite, bronze, gilt bronze and a filling material. Malachite grows in layers of tiny crystals its colors correlating with different crystal sizes, creating the pattern. During the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, most malachite came from Russian mines by the noble Demidov family. The family exploited hardstone quarries and metal deposits located on their estates in the remote Ural Mountains. In the 1820s on of the great discoveries in the history of semiprecious stones happened when an enormous malachite boulder around five hundred tons was unearthed there. Malachite is extremely brittle, so only small display objects can be cut from single blocks of the material. Large objects require a core structure, to which the malachite can be attached in thin pieces, effectively a veneer. Russian craftsmen developed a method to use the stone’s natural pattern and a precision cutting technique to form a continuing or “endless” ornamentation. This type of veneering appears nearly seemless and is called “Russian mosaic”.

The Demidov family used the flashy appearance of malachite to improve their social status, filling their palaces with the material and even decorating an entire room with the green stone, which inspired Czar Nicolas I to commission the famous Malachite Room in the Czar’s Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg.

The monumental vase above is modeled on an ancient Roman bell-shaped krater, the most famous example of which is the first-century Medici Vase, now in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. This shape was quite much admired through the early nineteenth century. Count Nikolai Demidov commissioned this particular malachite vase for his villa at San Donato, near Florence. Unlike with the Russian mosaic technique, large areas of this vase’s surface is composed of small malachite particles mixed with filling substance in the same way as modern terrazzo. This raw malachite was probably transported from one of his mines to Florence to be shaped and finished by local artists not trained in the specialized Russian technique. The vase would then have been sent onwards to Paris to be fitted with its mounts and pedestal.

The gilded bronze winged female figures on the body of the vase represent Fame. Their trumpets are shaped like handles, although the vase is too heavy to be lifted like a loving cup. A gilded bronze laurel garland of laurel (Laurus nobilis) runs under the lip mount. The laurel had been adopted by Lorenzo de’ Medici (who was also a lavish patron of the arts) as an emblem of his house with the motto “Ita ut virtus,” or “Thus is virtue”— that is to say, virtue is evergreen. It’s use here implies that the Demidov’s hoped that their fortune would also be evergreen.

The mounts and bronze pedestal were made by Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843), known throughout Europe for his bronze decorations and ornamental sculpture. He established a reputation before the French Revolution with beautiful mounts for Sèvres porcelain vases. In 1804 he founded a workshop that produced furniture as well as luxury bronzes.

Malachite and Azurite

Malachite with Azurite

Malachite Thumbnail

PropertyDescription of Malachite
Chemical Composition:Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
Mohs Hardness:3.5 to 4.0
Specific Gravity:3.6 to 4.0
Crystal System:Monclinic
Cleavage:Perfect in one direction, fair in a second direction
Diaphaneity:Most examples are opaque while crystals are translucent
Luster:Polishes to a very bright luster. Large specimens tend to be dull and earthy. Silky luster in fibrous examples. Unusual crystals trend from vitreous to adamantine.

Even though chyrsocolla and azurite are both copper based minerals, malachite is a better indicator of the presence of significant copper deposits. The Copper Queen mine in Brisbee was created on the basis of malachite deposits.

Malachite Copper Crescent Zaire Congo

Malachite Copper Crescent from Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Malachite Under a Stereoscopic Microscope

Image of Malachite Taken Under a Stereoscopic Microscope

Malachite has a number of different cultural meanings and associations. For the Chinese, Malachite is a lucky stone for those born in the Year of the Rabbit or Year of the Tiger. For the ancient Egyptians, the color green was associated with death and the power of resurrection – as well as new life and fertility. They believed that the afterlife contained the “Field of Malachite”, an eternal paradise resembling their lives but with no pain or suffering. They also used the material in powder form for cosmetics, particularly to try to resemble Horus, the falcon headed god Those who believe in crystal healing, crystal spirituality believe the stone has any number of healing, or metaphysical properties on the body, spirit or chakra.

View our collection of beautiful malachite specimens for sale, perfect as display piece on your table or mantle, for your collection, or for use in spiritual or crystal healing.

Learn more about Malachite at Mindat.

First image by JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7515677 .

Fifth image by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10148274.

Sixth image by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10130475.dex.php?curid=10148274.

Seventh image by Karolina Fok – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84931097.rg/w/index.php?curid=10148274.

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This Week’s Mineral Spotlight: Beautiful Blue Sodalite

sodalite mineral specimen

Description of Sodalite

A gorgeous blue mineral occurring in silica poor igneous rocks which contain other silica poor minerals and no quartz. , Sodalite’s distinctive color ranges from royal blue to light blue and white. It is often confused with lazurite, lazulite and azurite. Less common forms varieties include Hackmanite (found in Afghanistan) which is a tenebrescent violet-pink. Other forms include transparent Sodalite, which is very rare, and grayer and paler samples which sometimes fluorescent. Sodalite-bearing rocks include: nepheline syenite, trachyte, and phonolite and deposits are found in Namibia, Greenland, Russia, Brazil, Italy, and Canada (Ontario and British Columbia).  Small colorless crystals are found at Monte Somma, Vesuvius and at Vico Lake, near Viterbo in Italy. Sodalite deposits in the United States are found in Arkansas and Maine.

Hackmanite, a Variety of Sodalite, from Afghanistan

A Remarkable, Sharp, Isolated Hackmanite (Sodalite) Crystal from Koksha Valley, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan

Origin of the Name Sodalite

The name Sodalite is derived from the sodium content of the mineral and was by a Glasgow chemist, Professor Thomas Thomson. The mineral was first described after being discovered in  the Ilimaussaq Alkaline Complex, Narsaq, Greenland. Technically the name refers to a group of minerals with a similar isometric structure and related chemistry, and named after the most common of these minerals, also named sodalite. The Sodalite group is a member of the feldspathoid minerals. Other members of this mineral group include: Nosean, Hayne, and Lazurite.

Azul Bahia Granite - sodalite metasyenite from the Precambrian of Brazil.

Azul Bahia Granite – Sodalite Metasyenite from the Precambrian of Brazil.

Other Neat Facts!

Primarily used for decorative purposes particularly as cabochons for jewelry, beads and tumbled stones. Sodalite is one of the few blue rocks used for that purpose that is still reasonably priced.

Crystal sodalite tends to be rare, but large granular masses have been found near Bancroft, Ontario. Nearly 130 tons was of the material was mined from the Bancroft deposit and shipped to the U.K to decorate Marlborough House mansion in London – the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and at one time the residence of the Princess of Wales.

sodalite mineral specimen

Close Up View of Sodalite


View our collection of beautiful sodalite specimens, perfect as display piece on your table or mantle, for your collection, or for use in spiritual or crystal healing.

Other names for sodalite include alomite, bluestone and canadian lapis.

Learn more about sodalite at Mindat.

First image by Philippe Giabbanelli licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Bottom image: By The original uploader was Tillman at English Wikipedia. – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9433359.

Second image by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10451113.

Third image by James St. John – Azul Bahia Granite (sodalite metasyenite, Itabuna Syenite Complex, Neoproterozoic, ~676 Ma; Fazenda Hiassu, Bahia State, Brazil) 12, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58087558

Fourth image by Philippe Giabbanelli licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Bottom image: By The original uploader was Tillman at English Wikipedia. – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9433359.