As a native metal, bismuth has been known since the Middle Ages. A German monk named Basil Valentine first described it in 1450. Bismuth is often found uncombined with other elements, forming indistinct crystals, often in parallel groupings. It is hard, brittle, and lustrous. It is also found in grains and as foliated masses. Silver-white, it usually has a reddish tinge that distinguishes it. Specimens may have an iridescent tarnish. Bismuth is found in hydrothermal veins and in pegmatites and is often associated with ores of tin, lead, or copper,

Corundum is a mineral that is primarily composed of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and is one of the naturally occurring crystalline forms of aluminum oxide....

The hardest known mineral, diamond is pure carbon. Its crystals typically occur as octahedrons and cubes with rounded edges and slightly convex faces. Crystals may be transparent, translucent, or opaque. They range from colorless to black, with brown and yellow being the most common colors. Other forms include bort or boart (irregular or granular black diamond) and carbonado (microcrystalline masses).

Apatite is a very common mineral, but transparent gemstone-quality apatite is extremely rare. Despite the fact that apatite is the defining mineral for 5 on Mohs scale of hardness, the gemstone remains virtually unknown to most, and is seldom found in jewelry stores.

Andalusite is a rock forming minerals and is an aluminium nesosilicate minerals with the chemical formula Al2SiO5.At higher temperatures and pressures, andalusite may convert to sillimanite.andalusite is an aluminosilicate index mineral, providing clues to depth and pressures involved in producing the host rock.

Obsidian is an igneous rock that forms when molten rock material cools so rapidly that atoms are unable to arrange themselves into a crystalline structure. It is an amorphous material known as a "mineraloid." The result is a volcanic glass with a smooth uniform texture that breaks with a conchoidal fracture .

Fluorite, also called fluorspar, common halide mineral, calcium fluoride (CaF2), which is the principal fluorine mineral. It is usually quite pure, but as much as 20 percent yttrium or cerium may replace calcium. Fluorite occurs most commonly as a glassy, many-hued vein mineral and is often associated with lead and silver ores; it also occurs in cavities, in sedimentary rocks, in pegmatites, and in hot-spring areas

Known since antiquity, pyrite is commonly referred to as “fool’s gold.” Although much lighter than gold, its brassy color and relatively high density misled many novice prospectors. Its name is derived from the Greek word pyr, meaning “fire,” because it emits sparks when struck by iron.

Spinel is the name of both an individual mineral and of a group of metal-oxide minerals that share the same crystal structure. Minerals in this group include gahnite, franklinite, and chromite. Spinel is found as glassy, hard octahedra, or as grains or masses.

Hematite is a mineral and a common form of iron oxide. It is known for its distinctive reddish-brown to black metallic luster. The name...

Possibly the earliest ore of copper, malachite is believed to have been mined in the Sinai and eastern deserts of ancient Egypt from as early as 3000 BCE. Single crystals are uncommon; when found, they are short to long prisms.

Quartz is one of the most famous minerals on the earth. It occurs in essentially all mineral environments, and is the crucial constituent of many rocks. Quartz is likewise the maximum varied of all minerals, taking place in all distinct bureaucracy, habits, and colorings. There are more range names given to Quartz than any other mineral. Although the Feldspars as a group are more regular than Quartz, as an man or woman mineral Quartz is the maximum commonplace mineral.