#mineraloid

[geologyin-blog]

What is Shungite

Shungite is a rare, carbon-rich mineraloid rock found primarily in the Karelia region of northwestern Russia, near the village of Shunga,

Shungite is a rare, carbon-rich mineraloid rock found primarily in the Karelia region of northwestern Russia, near the village of Shunga, from which it takes its name. One of shungite’s most distinctive features is its content of fullerenes—hollow, spherical molecules made entirely of carbon (notably C₆₀ and C₇₀). These structures are exceptionally rare in natural materials and have attracted scientific interest due to their unique physical and chemical properties.

[blondebrainpowered]

Black Boulder Opal from Jundah-Opalville mine in Queensland, Australia.

Video by opalminded1989

[psikonauti]

Opal

[earthstory]

he Virgin Rainbow goes on display Opal is Australia's national gemstone, and they were born in what were once sediments at the bottom of a Jurassic shallow and muddy inland sea called Eromanga, that covered some 60% of the country that were transformed by chemical weathering and bacterial action into lovely gem silica at the time that the sea dried up (see http://on.fb.me/1TgdyjP and http://on.fb.me/1DERkWK for a detailed explanation of the process). Opals are found all around the boundaries of the Great artesian Basin in the centre of the red continent that marks the trace of this once upon a time sea, including in Coober Pedy in South Australia.

A miner was rooting around in a disused mineshaft back in 2003 when he came across this fine 6cm piece that has been hailed as the most spectacular black opal ever found. While this is subject to debate it certainly is a lush one, displaying the full spectrum of play of colour in a powerful and glowing artist's palette. The South Australia Museum in Adelaide purchased it to keep it in the country and has put it on display as part of an exhibition celebrating a century of opal mining in the state. Like many opals from the region the silica gel flowed into the space left in the rocks by a fossil, in this case a shell of an extinct cuttlefish like creature related to ammonites called a belemnite (see http://on.fb.me/1TFM2iH for another lovely opalised example and explanation). The opal preserved the fossils well, helping scientists to reconstruct the ecosystems in this Jurassic sea and by its shores by comparing the finds from the various opal fields, most of which are close to the coasts of the Palaeo Sea. Loz Image credit: Richard Lyons/South Australia Museum http://bit.ly/1JP1fKE http://bit.ly/1Dz7Bg5 http://ab.co/1OYUW6y

[wearwolfapparel]

View this post on Instagram

A little lesson on opals and similar gemstones. ------------------------------------------------------ Reposted from @littlelemuriagems Did you know that an opal is neither a crystal nor a mineral? An opal is actually a mineraloid! So...not all crystals are minerals, but all minerals are crystals 🤯 mineraloids are in a league of their own because there is no organized crystalline structure to classify them! Other mineraloids include but are not limited to: Shungite, obsidian, tektites, jet, and amber. °∆° #mineralogy #opals #opal #weloopal #boulderopal #blackopal #mineraloid #shungite #moldavite #crystals #lemurian #crystaladdict #crystalsforsale #crystalobsessed #mindfulness #mineralsofig #opalring (at Urban Shaman Company) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8tAXBYnzl0/?igshid=10d38vv5b4n5v

[curiousrocks]

Opal can be found in a variety of colors, this one just happens to be pink. Most opal is found in Australia, and is formed by with water, classifying it as a mineraloid.

[purpledragon57]

turns out making Houseki no Kuni ocs is more complicated than I expected.

[thatgeographychick]

Another gorgeous opal I can’t afford