Most Beautiful Minerals in the World : Top 10 Most Beautiful and Coolest Rocks and Minerals in the Earth

Nature has created so many beautiful things and Minerals are some of them which can be the coolest looking, most beautiful and striking objects that exist in the world. This list of the top 10 beautiful minerals and stones is by no means substantial, there are so many numbers of different minerals that exist on Earth. Here are the top 10 which cover only some of the most amazing and spectacular we've ever seen.

(1) CROCOITEEE

1. Crocoite is a mineral consisting of lead chromate, PbCrO₄ and crystallizing in the monoclinic crystal system.
2. Crocoite is commonly found as large, well-developed prismatic adamantine crystals, although in many cases is poorly terminated.
3. Crystals are of bright hyacinth-red colour, translucent
4. The streak is orange-yellow; Mohs hardness is 2.5–3; and the specific gravity is 6.0
5. crocoite crystals have been found in the Extended Mine at Mount Dundas as well as the Adelaide, Red Lead, West Comet, Platt and a few other Mines at Dundas, Tasmania

(2) UVAROVITE

1. Uvarovite is a chromium-bearing garnet group species with the formula: Ca₃Cr₂(SiO₄)₃
2. Uvarovite is the rarest of the common members of the garnet group and is the only consistently green garnet species, with an emerald-green colour
3. Mohs hardness is 6.5–7.5, and the specific gravity is 3.77 - 3.81
4. The most significant source of uvarovite historically has been a now-closed copper mine at Outokumpu, Finland including localities in New Mexico, Arizona, and California in the USA

(3) AZURITE

1. Azurite is a soft, deep-blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits
2. The mineral, a carbonate with the chemical formula Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂, has been known since ancient times
3. azurite's exceptionally deep and clear blue has been associated with low-humidity desert and winter skies
4. Mohs hardness is 3.5 to 4, and the specific gravity is 3.773 - 3.78

(4) TOURMALINE

1. Tourmaline is a crystalline boron silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminum, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium.
2. Tourmaline is classified as a semi-precious stone and the gemstone can be found in a wide variety of colours like black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and pink.
3. Tourmaline is a six-member ring cyclosilicate having a trigonal crystal system
4. Tourmaline is found in granite and granite pegmatites and in metamorphic rocks such as schist and marble
5. Mohs hardness is 7–7.5, and the specific gravity is 3.06 (+.20 -.06)

(5) FLUORITE

1. Fluorite is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF₂
2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon
3. Pure fluorite is transparent, both in visible and ultraviolet light, but impurities usually make it colourful like Purple, lilac, golden-yellow, green, blue, pink, champagne, brown
4. Mohs hardness is 4, and the specific gravity is 3.175–3.184
5. Fluorite is a widely occurring mineral with significant deposits in over 9,000 areas globally like South Africa, Mexico, China, Mongolia, Russia, Spain, etc

(6) OPAL

1. Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO₂ ⁿH₂O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight
2. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock
3. Commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt
4. Precious opal shows a variable interplay of internal colours.
5. Fire opal is a transparent to translucent opal, with warm body colours of yellow to orange to red.
6. Opal may be transparent, or have a different colour like white, yellow, red, orange, green, brown, black, blue, pink
7. Mohs hardness is 5.5–6; and the specific gravity is 2.15 (+0.08, -0.09)
8. It is found in Australia, Ethiopia, Virgin Valley, Nevada, Mexico, Canada, Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil etc

(7) TITANIUM QUARTZ

1. Titanium quartz also called Aura Quartz, Flame Aura Quartz, and Rainbow Aura Quartz has both the properties of titanium and quartz
2. it is a natural quartz crystal that has been contrived by bonding oxide on its surface making permanent and beautiful colours in all the hues on the rainbow
3. Titanium molecules are bonded to the quartz by the natural electrostatic charge of the crystal in a process known as magnetron ionization

(8) BISMUTH

1. Bismuth is a chemical element with the symbol Bi and atomic number 83.
2. It is a pentavalent post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens with chemical properties resembling its lighter homologs arsenic and antimony.
3. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores.
4. Bismuth is the most naturally diamagnetic element, and has one of the lowest values of thermal conductivity among metals.
5. Mohs hardness is 2.25
6. According to the United States Geological Survey, the world mining production of bismuth in 2016 was 10,200 tonnes, with major contributions from China, Vietnam and Mexico.

(9) ROSE QUARTZ

1. Rose quartz is the name used for pink specimens of the mineral quartz.
2. It is abundant, common, and found in large quantities at numerous locations around the world.
3. It is usually occurring as massive, anhedral occurrences in hydrothermal veins and pegmatites.
4. The pink colour of rose quartz is attributed to microscopic inclusions of a pink variety of the mineral dumortierite.
5. These inclusions are usually abundant enough to make the rose quartz translucent instead of transparent.
6. Mohs hardness is 7, and the specific gravity is 2.6 to 2.7
7. It is abundant, usually inexpensive, and popular as tumbled stones, beads, and cabochons.
8. Rose quartz is found in abundance in many deposits throughout the world. Much of the rose quartz that is sold today is produced in Brazil, South Africa, India, and Madagascar. Other sources include Namibia, Mozambique, and Sri Lanka.

(10) RHODOCHROSITE

1. Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with a chemical composition of MnCO₃.
2. In its (rare) pure form, it is typically a rose-red colour, but impure specimens can be shades of pink to pale brown.
3. It is often confused with the manganese silicate, rhodonite, but is distinctly softer.
4. Rhodochrosite forms a complete solid solution series with iron carbonate (siderite). Calcium, (as well as magnesium and zinc, to a limited extent) frequently substitutes for manganese in the structure, leading to lighter shades of red and pink, depending on the degree of substitution.
5. It is for this reason that the most common colour encountered is pink.
6. Mohs hardness varies between 3.5 and 4. Its specific gravity is between 3.5 and 3.7.
7. Rhodochrosite occurs as a hydrothermal vein mineral along with other manganese minerals in low-temperature ore deposits as in the silver mines of Romania where it was first found. Banded rhodochrosite is mined in Capillitas, Argentina.

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Sources of Information: Wikipedia | For more details click on 👉 Crocoite | Uvarovite | Azurite | Tourmaline | Fluorite | Opal | Bismuth | Rose Quartz | Rhodochrosite | Titanium quartz