Crystal Codex

TL;DR Pink Feldspar in Quartz is a newly documented igneous rock aggregate — not a single mineral — composed of pink-to-peach orthoclase feldspar (KAlSi₃O₈) intergrown within a clear-to-white quartz matrix (SiO₂)....

TL;DRBlue kyanite is a bladed aluminium silicate mineral (Al₂SiO₅) distinguished by its anisotropic hardness — measuring 4.5 along its blade length and up to 7 across the width — and...

TL;DRLepidolite — K(Li, Al)₃(Al, Si)₄O₁₀(F, OH)₂ — is apotassium-lithium-aluminiumm phyllosilicate of the mica group. It forms through late-stage magmatic crystallisation within granitic pegmatites, most often alongside other lithium-bearing minerals. Mohs...

TL;DRUnakite is a granitic metamorphic rock formed when hydrothermal fluids alter the minerals within existing granite, producing a characteristic intergrowth of green epidote, pink orthoclase feldspar, and quartz. Its Mohs...

TL;DRMalachite (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂) is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral that forms through the supergene weathering of primary copper ore deposits. It crystallises in the monoclinic system, most commonly in botryoidal, stalactitic,...

TL;DRKyanite is a triclinic aluminium silicate (Al₂SiO₅) known for its blade-like crystals and distinctly variable hardness — 4.5–5 along the blade, 6.5–7 across it. Named in 1789 by Abraham Gottlob...

TL;DR Mtorolite is a rare green chalcedony (SiO₂) coloured by chromium — not nickel, which is what distinguishes it from the more widely available chrysoprase. Its name comes from Mutorashanga, a...