This holiday season, why not get a mineral every day instead of chocolate? Today’s mineral is Monazite, find out more about it below..

Yesterday we looked at the first thing we see that makes us think of winter-joy, but today I’m going to talk about the first thing you hear, and that of course is the ubiquitous Christmas Songs Playlist, that seems to be on loop in practically every store from the end of October.

I love some seasonal music, but how would I listen to it if my speakers didn’t work!

Now personally I have always been more of a fan of this kind of music:

or this:

Than this kind of music, which is more of what you hear in the shops…

But regardless of which kind of seasonal song you like, you wouldn’t hear them at all without minerals like Monazite and that is because Monazite contains Neodymium – a Rare Earth Element (or REE) that makes all your speakers do their jazzy, seasonal thing.

A picture of Monazite (Nd) from MinDat website, taken by Enrico Bonacina

Monazite (Nd):

• Chemical formula: (Nd,La,Ce)(PO₄)
• Colour: Orange brown, yellow to pink
  
• System: Isometric
• Hardness (Mohs): 5 – 5 1/2
• Can you find it in the UK? Yes

Locations registered for Monazite in the UK, from the MinDat website. The crystal in the sea between Cornwall and France, should actually be on Cornwall!

Monazite is actually the name of a group of minerals with similar chemistry and features that have different amounts of various REE in them. Monazite can be found in Cornwall and Skye in the UK, but is not commercially mined in this country.

For more information about Monazite please visit the MinDat website.