Mineral Science

Quick answer: chemically, quartz is silicon dioxide (SiO2), so in principle it is 100% silica. In practice, natural quartz is

Quick answer: among natural colors, the rarest quartz is natural green quartz (prasiolite), which Wikipedia’s mineral entry calls “exceedingly rare,”

Quick answer: Micromounting is the hobby of collecting tiny mineral crystals, usually a few millimeters or smaller, mounted in small

Quick answer: A double-terminated crystal has natural points on both ends because it grew without being attached to rock, suspended

Quick answer: Sulfide minerals are compounds of sulfur with metals such as iron, copper, lead, zinc, and silver, and they

Quick answer: Inclusions are minerals, fluids, or gas bubbles trapped inside another crystal. Common examples are rutile needles in rutilated

Quick answer: Vivianite is a hydrated iron phosphate that starts nearly colorless or pale green and darkens to deep blue-green

Quick answer: Earth has about 6,000 known minerals, while the Moon has only a few hundred, because most of Earth’s

Quick answer: A gossan is the rusty, iron-oxide cap that forms where a sulfide ore body reaches the surface and

Quick answer: Polymorphs are minerals with the same chemical formula but different crystal structures. Calcite and aragonite are both calcium