Silicates Minerals

Sardonyx is a gemstone that belongs to the chalcedony family, which is a type of microcrystalline quartz. It is a variety of onyx, which...

Serendibite is a rare and precious gemstone known for its stunning deep blue to bluish-black coloration. It is a mineral composed of aluminum, silicon,...

Kaolinite is a clay mineral with chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. Rocks rich in kaolinite are called kaolin. Kaolinite, common group of clay minerals that are hydrated aluminum silicates; they contain the main components of kaolin (china clay). The group includes kaolinite, which is chemically similar but amorphous to kaolinite, and its rarer forms, stalagmite and nacrite, halloysite and allophane.

Pietersite is a unique and striking gemstone known for its captivating chatoyancy and vibrant color variations. It is a type of chalcedony, which is...

Clay minerals are the function minerals of the earths close to floor environments. They shape in soils and sediments, and through diagenetic and hydrothermal alteration of rocks. Water is essential for clay mineral formation and most clay minerals are defined as hydrous alumino silicates.

Nosean, otherwise called Noselite, is a mineral of the feldspathoid type in tectosilicate with formula: Na8Al6Si6O24 (SO4). H2O. It frames isometric precious stones of...

Biotite is the most common mica mineral and also known as black mica, a silicate mineral in the common mica group. Approximate chemical formula K (Mg, Fe). Biotite can be found in massive crystal layers weighing several hundred pounds. It is abundant in metamorphic rocks (both regional and contact), pegmatites, and also in granites and other invasive magmatic rocks. Biotite usually occurs in brown to black, dark green variety.

A light mica, lepidolite is Earth’s most common lithium-bearing mineral. Its name is derived from two Greek words: lepidos, which means “scale,” and lithos, which means “stone.” Although typically pale lilac, specimens can also be colorless, violet, pale yellow, or gray. Lepidolite crystals may appear pseudohexagonal. The mineral is also found as botryoidal or kidneylike masses and fine- to coarse-grained, interlocking plates. Its perfect cleavage yields thin, flexible sheets. Lepidolite occurs in granitic pegmatites, where it is associated with other lithium minerals, such as beryl and topaz. The mineral is economically important as a major source of lithium, which is used to make glass and enamels. It is also a major source of the rare alkali metals rubidium and cesium.

Spodumene is a pyroxene member of inosilicate mineral with chemical formula is LiAl(SiO3)2, lithium aluminium. It can also be pink, lilac, or green. Crystals are prismatic, flattened, and typically striated along their length. Gem varieties of the mineral usually exhibit strong pleochroism.

Chlorastrolite, also known as the "Green Starstone" or "Michigan Greenstone," is a rare and distinctive variety of the mineral pumpellyite, a silicate mineral. What...

Carnelian is a captivating gemstone renowned for its warm and vibrant colors, ranging from light orange to deep reddish-brown. It belongs to the chalcedony...

Iolite, also known as cordierite, is a mineral that belongs to the silicate mineral group. Its name is derived from the Greek word "ios,"...