Author Archives: Hazel

Haematite – Day 19 of the Mineral Advent Calendar

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

It’s the 19th of December, so you know what that means – it’s the last posting day for second class postage to reach it’s recipient before the 24th. So you have probably had those scissors out doing all your wrapping and sticking over the last couple of days. But don’t worry if you missed the 2nd class post today – you still have the first class post – until Monday!

Sharp scissors are essential for nice wrapping!

Sharp scissors are essential for nice wrapping!

However, in order for your beautifully wrapped presents to have been wrapped, you need nice scissors, preferably sharp steel ones – and for steel scissors you need iron, found in the ore Haematite (yes I know some people spell it Hematite, but I was brought up to include the ‘a’, so I look at it the same way that colour is spelt WITH a ‘u’).

A gorgeous photo of haematite by Jean-Marc Johannet from the MinDat website.

A gorgeous photo of haematite by Jean-Marc Johannet from the MinDat website.

Haematite:
Chemical formula: Fe2O3
Colour: Steel-grey to black in crystals and massively crystalline ores, dull to bright “rust-red” in in earthy, compact, fine-grained material.
System: Trigonal
Hardness (Mohs): 5 – 6
Can you find it in the UK? Yes

Unfortunately the map showing locations you can find Haematite in the UK isn’t working, but needless to say it is a fairly common mineral easily spotted by it’s rust red colour when it has been weathered.

For more information about Haematite please visit the MinDat website.

Cinnabar – Day 18 of the Mineral Advent Calendar

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

It’s Friday the 18th of December – which can mean only one thing….. IT’S CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY!!!!!!!!! I, as I’m sure you can imagine, own MANY seasonal jumpers, but my favourite one by far is this one:

It's a DINOSAUR CHRISTMAS JUMPER!

It’s a DINOSAUR CHRISTMAS JUMPER!

I mean come on! It has ROBOT DINOSAURS on it!!!! But there is one thing that it shares with many other Christmas jumpers – it’s synthetic fabric. But that’s ok, because the mineral we are looking at today is essential for artificial jumpers, and that is Cinnabar. Cinnabar is one of the original sources for the colour vermillion red and is also used in the formation of sodium hydroxide, a material that is used to make synthetic fabric, aka ALL THE CHRISTMAS JUMPERS!! Seriously if you have a Christmas Jumper that isn’t synthetic, please send me a picture – I’m not sure they exist!!!

I mean, no words are needed really. An AMAZING photo by Dominik Schläfli.

I mean, no words are needed really. An AMAZING Cinnabar photo by Dominik Schläfli.

Cinnabar:
Chemical formula: HgS
Colour: Red
System: Trigonal
Hardness (Mohs): 2 – 2½
Can you find it in the UK? Yes

Locations for Cinnabar in the UK, as per the MinDat website.

Locations for Cinnabar in the UK, as per the MinDat website.

I didn’t realise you can find Cinnabar in the UK, but let’s face it, we have a brilliantly diverse rock and mineral resource in this country so I shouldn’t be surprised (quietly slips off to note these locations down as I love Cinnabar, it’s beautiful and has a fun name that sounds like it should be a biscuit).

For more information about Cinnabar please visit the MinDat website.

Smithsonite – Day 17 of the Mineral Advent Calendar

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

If you hadn’t guessed yet, I really enjoy this time of year; the food, the sparkling lights, the music, the company and the bells! The jingle of sleigh bells is so ubiquitous at this time of year that you might think that you don’t hear them any other time, but good brass sleigh bells are still used on sleds and sleighs to make them audible o  dark winters nights in many parts of the world. And what a great sound they make!!

Yes sleigh bells are my text tone right now, which I guess might be driving my family a little crazy, but in order to have real brass sleigh bells you need zinc, and for that you need today’s mineral Smithsonite!

Lovely Smithsonite - this pink one is really pretty! The image is from The MinDat website, taken by Danny Jones.

Lovely Smithsonite – this pink one is really pretty! The image is from the MinDat website, taken by Danny Jones.

Smithsonite:
Chemical formula: ZnCO3
Colour: White, grey, yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, bluish grey, and brown.
System: Trigonal
Hardness (Mohs): 4 – 4½

Locations for Smithsonite from the MinDat Website.

Locations for Smithsonite from the MinDat Website.

Smithsonite is a mineral connected with the oxidisation of zinc, so you can find it in several locations in the UK – similar to copper, often in old industrial mining areas. But again, take care if searching for minerals near old mining locations, in case of unmarked shafts, or dangerous unstable surfaces.

For more information about Smithsonite please visit the MinDat website.

Talc – Day 16 of the Mineral Advent Calendar

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

So now the party season is fully upon us, how many festive dinners have you got scheduled this year? I’m only going to three (apart from the big day) but one year I had ELEVEN!! That was a lot of seasonal parties!!!!! If you are going out to a party tonight (as I am – staff party here we come!) then you will probably be thinking about looking your best, and if you are like me that means sparkles! I also like a bit of shimmer in my make-up, but did you know that your make-up probably includes some of the mineral talc?

A bit of sparkle goes a long way at this time of year and shimmery make-up just helps it along!

A bit of sparkle goes a long way at this time of year and shimmery make-up just helps it along!

Talc has been used in make-up for years, but since the recent resurgeance of mineral make-up talc is becoming a more obvious ingredient. It is actually pretty good in make-up as it is not harsh on your skin and smooths the make-up on. If you are anything like me you are very familiar with talc from when you were a kid, my mum would use if for anything from patting you down after the bath to getting swimming caps on (yes I did look like a ghost afterwards, but it didn’t hurt!). So the talc in your seasonal make-up is today’s mineral advent!

This is a gorgeous picture of a talc crystal from the MinDat Website.

This is a gorgeous picture of a talc crystal from the MinDat website.

Talc:
Chemical formula: Mg3(Si4O10)(OH)2
Colour: Colorless, white,  sometimes it can be pale green, bright emerald-green to dark green, brown or gray.
System: Triclinic
Hardness (Mohs): 1 (if you are a geologist you should know this – it’s the standard!)
Can you find it in the UK? Yes

Locations you can find Talc in the UK according to the MinDat website

Locations you can find Talc in the UK according to the MinDat website

You can find Talc in the UK, it is often found in large masses in or near rocks that are metamorphic (aka altered by heat and/or pressure). As these kinds of rocks can be located far from civilisation be careful if going hunting for talc!

For more information about Talc please visit the MinDat website.

Copper – Day 15 of the Mineral Advent Calendar

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

It’s the 15th of December and you know what that means… THERE ARE ONLY 10 MORE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!! So an important question remains to be asked. Have you got your Christmas lights up yet?

Are your Christmas lights up yet? They should be by now!

Are your Christmas lights up yet? They should be by now!

You should do, and if you do by now your house shold be strung with copper. Copper?! I hear you say? Yes, copper, it’s the wire that helps your lights sparkle so gorgeously! So today’s mineral for the advent is copper! And not only is it a mineral, but a metal too – a really important one.

Gorgrous Copper!

Gorgrous Copper!

Copper:
Chemical formula: Cu
Colour: Copper-red. Tarnishes to black or green in air.
System: Isoclinic
Hardness (Mohs): 2½ – 3
Can you find it in the UK? Yes

There are many locations you can find copper across the UK! Map is from the MinDat website.

There are many locations you can find copper across the UK! Map is from the MinDat website.

You can find Copper in the UK, in fact up until a few decades ago it was commercially mined in this country. Check out locations across the southwest, Devon and Cornwall in particular, the northwest and Scotland for some prime copper hunting locations! However, if you end up in one of these locations be careful in any sites that could have old mining structures – they might not always be marked!

For more information about Copper please visit the MinDat website.