Fluorite

FluoriteFluorite is one of the most variable of all crystalline minerals, occurring in shades of blue, green, purple, red and many other colors corresponding to their physical makeup and conditions when the mineral was formed. The name fluorite comes from its use as a flux, or chemical cleaning agent, in iron smelting and other metallurgy. Pure fluorite is clear, but most specimens have vivid color due to various impurities and are often fluorescent. With a

From the Ordovician age

from the Upper Silurian age

The name fluorite comes from its use as a flux

It rarely occurs in crystal form but is often found in botryoidal or fibrous formations

Our specimens consist of fine crystals spread across a matrix in shades of both blue and green

Azurite is a striking copper-based mineral found in shades of deep blue to vivid green

but most specimens have vivid color due to various impurities and are often fluorescent

many of which feature coatings of fine

typically associated with granitic pegmatites

There are 5 on this plate for reference of what they look like

Each contains at least one (most several) clearly visible insect

It has a very dramatic "head shield" which is often interpreted as a mechanism to help it stay on top of a soft ocean floor