Silica (SiO2) is ubiquitous on Earth and has become integral to daily life. Although it has a simple chemical formula, the SiO2 system is very complex, with at least 15 known modifications, i.e., mineral phases with the same stoichiometric composition but different crystal structures. Quartz (trigonal, low-temperature α-quartz) is the most important silica polymorph in nature and occurs as a comm…
They have names that sound borrowed from a fantasy novel: melilitite, nephelinite, ultramafic lamprophyre, kimberlite. Until quite recently they were mostly the preserve of mineralogy textbooks
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They have names that sound borrowed from a fantasy novel: melilitite, nephelinite, ultramafic lamprophy…
What is Orthoclase gemstone? Orthoclase is a mineral that belongs to the family of silicate minerals called feldspar . The deference between the feldspars and the other silicates is that the former contain a mixture of the following chemical elements: Potassium K, Calcium Ca and Sodium Na, in addition to the usual constituents of the quartz based minerals, such as Aluminium, Al, silicon Si and ox…
John A. Jaszczak Department of Physics and the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum Michigan Technological University December 5, 2014, 3:00pm Chemical Science Building, Room 101 Abstract: The Lelatema Mountains in northern Tanzania are host to one of the world’s richest flake graphite deposits, but it is the purple-blue gem variety of zoisite called “tanzanite” that . . .
Alexandria, VA – The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) announces the release of its publication, “The Consumer’s Guide to Minerals.”
The importance of minerals in our everyday lives cannot be underestimated. “The Consumer’s Guide to Minerals” is a different take on them. Rather than focusing on visual and physical properties, this book explores mineral…
