Albite: The White Stuff

Albite is a sodium plagioclase, chemical formula Na(AlSi3O8). It is appropriately named after albus which means “white” in latin. Indeed, albite’s color is typically white, but can be colorless, red, blue, grey, and green. It has a hardness of 6-6.5, about the same as quartz, but can be distinguished from quartz because albite is biaxial and has cleavage, and exhibits a bladed or platy habit. Albite is also mainly found in igneous rocks.

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Gold, Gold, Gold!!

I decided to post about gold, considering we don’t have any specimens at UPJ, and you never know when you might come across a seam and hit it rich. Gold is not only a mineral, it is a rare earth element, and a metal. This means that a sample of entirely pure gold contains ONLY atoms of gold, no atoms of any other element, whereas a mineral is a mixture of many various elements. Gold is the most malleable and ductile of all metals. A single ounce, just over 28 grams, can be beaten into a sheet nearly 5 meters on each side! This gold sheet is only a few atoms thick. Gold has been praised for millenia for its beauty and malleability, making it useful for jewelry and decorations. It’s atomic number is 79, and it’s atomic mass (the number of protons and neutrons) is 196.966

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Serpentine

Serpentine is commonly mistaken for one mineral; in fact, serpentine represents an entire group of polymorphic minerals, known as serpentine-kaolinite group. These polymorphic minerals have basically the same chemical formula, but exhibit minor differences in structure. Serpentine minerals are found in the silicate group, and in the subgroup phyllosilicates, due to the structural formation of silicate tetrahedra plates with an Mg(OH)2 group between the tetrahedra plates. This stacking is common in the mineral brucite, and these sheets are called brucite layers. Disparities in the stacking of these layers accounts for the polymorphs associated with the serpentine group. Like many members of the phyllosilicate group, serpentine crystals are translucent, while masses are opaque, and have a low specific density and low hardness. These minerals also exhibit colors such as olive green, yellow/gold, brown, and black with a waxy luster. This mineral group is associated with asbestos growth, the fibers of which can cause cancer, so be careful when examining these minerals.

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Norris hite

For my last post I figured I would make it the best one yet…Norris hite!! Yes they named a mineral after Chuck himself(not really actually it was named after Keith Norrish from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia.)  Norrishite[K(Mn2Li)Si4O10(O)2] is a manganiferous schist, formed through metamorphism of a manganese deposit.  It’s found mostly in Australia and has perfect cleavage.  It is brownish black to black, is translucent, and has a hardness of 2.5.  It’s biaxial and is radioactive, but it is barely detectable.

Norrishite

Norrishite

The real reason...

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Iowaite

I picked Iowaite[Mg4Fe(OH)8Clx2-4(H2O)] because it has the name of a state in it and I think thats pretty cool.  It’s found mostly in Sioux county, Iowa and has perfect cleavage(thatswatshesaid).  It is bluish green, greenish white, or honey yellow.  Its platy and forms in sheets.  It is relatively soft, with a hardness of 1.5.  It leaves a white streak and has a greasy luster.  It is also transparent and is not radioactive.

Iowaite

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Pabstite

I picked Pabstite [Ba(Sn.77Ti.23)Si3O9] because it reminded me PBR…yaaa baby.  It is a barium tin titanium silicate that is usually found in limestone.  It is only mined in Santa Cruz, California and it is also uniaxial.  It occurs in rocks that contain calcite, quartz, phlogopite, tremolite, diopside, and forsterite.  It is very rare to find in the field and when you put it under a shortwave ultraviolet light, a bluish fluorescence can be seen.  It was named after Adolph Pabst, who was a mineralogist and taught at the University of California at Berkeley.  Its color is colorless to white, has a hardness of 6, is transparent to translucent and has a white streak.

Pabstite

Chucks beard lays a smack down

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Uranopilite

Uranopilite [(UO2)6SO4(OH)6O2x12H2O]  is a pretty cool mineral because it is fluorescent and radioactive.  It is a minor ore of uranium and is straw yellow in color.  It has perfect cleavage, is fluorescent under and ultraviolet light, is nonmagnetic, and has a silky luster.  There isn’t that much information on it but it looked pretty cool and had a weird chemical composition.

Uranopilite

Hey dogg don't mess with the Norris

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Diamond

Diamond is the hardest natural substance on planet earth. They are formed very deep in the mantle are brought closer to the surface via kimberlites, eclogites, and other rocks that form deep in the mantle.  It has a hardness of 10.  Almost all easy to mine deposits have been exhausted. Many people are still searching for new localities to mine these precious stone.

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Corundum

When you first hear of corundum you may think you have never heard it before but corundum is actually the same mineral as such popular gemstones like ruby’s and sapphires. Corundum is the second hardest mineral known to the science community. It is only second to diamond. This strength could be attributed strong and short oxygen-aluminum bonds. Color is highly variable and can be any color to colorless. It had a vitreous to admantine luster. It has a hardness of nine. 

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Titanite

Titanite is sometimes referred to as Sphene. It is a calcium titanium nesocillicate mineral and its chemical formula. This mineral is named after its composition. It has a slight resinous texture. Titanite has the same hardness as a steel nail. In thin section it has a high burefringence. Titanite is found in metamorphosed rocks such as gneiss and schists. It cna be found in Pakistan, US, Canada, Russia, China, Switzerland.

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