Minerals are natural solid substances with highly ordered internal atomic structures. They possess specific crystal forms and often possess specific chemical composition.
Crystalline minerals can be formed through three distinct means: directly from solutions, by crystallization from magma or through biological precipitation.
Minerals possess unique properties that enable geologists to distinguish them. One such characteristic is cleavage – the number and quality of fracture planes in a mineral. Another one is fluorescence, where certain minerals emit light when exposed to light sources.
Quartz
Quartz is one of the most widespread naturally-occurring minerals. It forms an integral component of mountain sand as well as beach, riverbed and desert sand deposits. Being both hard and durable material that resists mechanical and chemical stress, quartz finds widespread usage across an array of products.
Strength and durability make quartz an ideal raw material for construction projects like glass and concrete, as well as for grinding/sandblasting, soap production and ballasting railroad lines and highway shoulders. Furthermore, quartz can also be found as gemstones such as amethyst citrine and smoky quartz.
Stones such as quartz are widely believed to possess both healing and metaphysical properties, including encouraging self-confidence, clarity, and spiritual enlightenment.
Mica
Mica is a group of 37 phyllosilicate minerals distinguished by an extraordinary ability to fracture into thin sheets that stretch under tension – known as perfect basal cleavage – that sets it apart from most other silicate minerals and makes it highly durable and resilient.
Light is also reflected off mica powder, making it useful in manufacturing pearlescent pigments, car paint, plastic containers and high-quality inks. Makeup artists utilize mica powder to add silky shine to eye shadow and lipstick applications while crafters include it as an ingredient for claystamping pigments or even luster dust products.
Some companies that rely on mica are involved with the Responsible Mica Initiative, working alongside local communities in India to end child labour and subpar working conditions. Their goal is to achieve 100% ethical mica supply chain by 2022.
Sulfates
Sulfate is a naturally-occurring chemical compound found in soil, water and the human body. You’ll also find it in many cleaning products you use around the home and body; its production results from burning fossil fuels which contributes to acid rain and hazy air conditions that have detrimental health impacts for people as well as damaging forests, plants and ecosystems.
Sulfates are powerful surfactants capable of dissolving oil and other sticky substances, and are used extensively in soaps, shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers. When they come into contact with skin they alter its acidity level while disrupting its microbiome; ultimately leading to dryness and irritation as they strip essential oils away from it and increase risk for sensitive reactions from irritants.
Sulfur
Sulfur is one of the essential minerals essential to life, providing us with methionine as an amino acid and found in many meats. Furthermore, sulfur can also be found in batteries, detergents, fungicides, gun power and matches.
Most sulfur is mined from sulfate deposits such as those at Wai-O-Tapu geothermal field in Rotorua. While pure sulfur is yellow and odorless, its compounds like mercaptans that give skunks their characteristic scent and hydrogen sulfide produced when eggs or factories rot produce compounds that smell unpleasant – both can add an unpleasant fragrance.
Elemental sulfur reacts with oxygen in the air to form sulfur dioxide, a primary contributor to air pollution. When combined with moisture, sulfur dioxide can combine further and form acid rain which damages building stones and monuments while decreasing natural lake levels and irritating human and livestock skin.
Fluorescence
Many minerals exhibit intrinsic fluorescence when exposed to UV light. Trivalent chromium contributes to the creamy yellow green fluorescence seen in autunite or andersonite, and divalent europium to the blue hue seen in zircon, powellite, and scheelite (calcium molybdate). Other crystals that exhibit intrinsic fluorescence include apatite and some samples of hyalite opal; biological molecules like Bilirubin can also fluoresce brightly when exposed to UV light – just two examples among many thousands!
Fluorescent molecules release their excess energy via nonradiative pathways such as internal conversion to lower excited states, intersystem crossing to triplet states or energy transfer with other molecules; as a result, excited-state lifetime and quantum yield of fluorescent molecules are closely tied.
