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The mineral atlas
Explore blue ornamental materials, colored manganese minerals, micas and copper minerals sold as tumbles or collector specimens. Compare sodalite-bearing rock with lapis lazuli, and distinguish named mineral constituents from mixed or treated carving material.
14 specimens · Geology, history, and spiritual attributes
14 specimens
Blue Feldspathoid and Light-Responsive Varieties
A blue to variable-colored feldspathoid mineral.
Sodalite is familiar in blue, pale-veined ornamental rocks, but the mineral has other colors too.
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A blue ornamental rock
A rock containing blue lazurite with variable calcite, pyrite and other minerals.
Lapis lazuli is an opaque blue rock used for jewelry, carving, inlay and pigment.
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White borate, branching veining, and a modern association with patience
Calcium borosilicate hydroxide, commonly white with dark veining.
Howlite is a white calcium borosilicate hydroxide, often crossed by gray markings.
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Magnesium carbonate, from pale ornamental stone to an industrial mineral
Magnesium carbonate (MgCO3).
Magnesite ranges from white nodules to well-formed crystals.
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Rose-colored manganese silicate, with a complex mineral story behind the pink
Manganese-rich silicate material, often pink with dark manganese oxides.
Rhodonite appears in pink-and-black aggregates and transparent red crystals.
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Manganese carbonate in rose-colored bands and exceptional red crystals
Manganese carbonate (MnCO3).
Rhodochrosite ranges from pink-and-white banded aggregates to transparent red crystals.
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Lithium-rich mica, layered sparkle, and the importance of a precise name
Field/trade name for lithium-rich micas, not one accepted mineral species.
Lepidolite is the familiar name for lithium-rich mica material often seen in lilac or pink, with a sheen produced by many thin plates.
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Chromium-green mica, layered light, and the different stones hidden behind one name
Chromium-bearing green muscovite variety.
Fuchsite is chromium-colored green muscovite.
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Blue mineral fibers, quartz landscapes, and a history beyond ornamental stone
Aluminium borosilicate, commonly encountered in quartz-rich material.
Dumortierite is an aluminum borosilicate occurring in fibrous masses and as needles within quartz.
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Violet mineral fibers and a remarkable Siberian rock
Complex silicate mineral usually sold as purple charoite-bearing rock.
Charoite's appeal is not simply that it is purple.
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Purple silicate, mixed mineral textures, and the importance of genuine identity
A complex potassium-sodium lithium silicate mineral, often sold in mixed massive material.
Sugilite includes brownish-yellow material from Japan and the purple manganese-bearing South African material familiar in jewelry.
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Deep blue copper silicate, delicate fibers, and quartz that preserves a growth history
A copper silicate hydroxide mineral, often present in blue-green mixed rocks.
Shattuckite brings an intense blue to the oxidized zones of copper deposits.
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Vivid copper-green crystals with an intricate structure and vulnerable edges
Hydrated copper silicate, often emerald green.
Dioptase's vivid green invites comparison with emerald, but it is hydrated copper silicate, not beryl.
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Unlike crystal ends, zinc-rich origins, and a surprisingly varied appearance
Hydrated zinc silicate.
Hemimorphite forms pale crystal fans and rounded blue crusts.
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