Gems are Minerals

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Gems are Minerals

podrock — 6/14/2010 7:08:04 PM (archived)

Sorry Lee, but I'm being picky here. There are a few exceptions: pearls are organic, and not typically considered a mineral; and opal is basically a colloid of quartz spheres so it does not have a crystaline structure.

Rubys are just nice clean garnets and emeralds are just pretty beryl crystals. Garnets have some industrial applications due to their hardness, but have been replaced by synthetic minerals. Beryl is a source of Beryllium, 'natch, but its unusual crystal structure allows space for all sorts of other elements, especially the bigger ones like the Rare Earth Elements. The USGS study did not include REE's, which are becoming more and more statigically important, and as Jody pointed out some time ago, China controlls more than 90% of REE deposits.

The whole thread (55 posts)

Economic game changer in Afghanistan? - TB - 6/14/2010 4:17:41 AM
- Re: the goldwater solutions - Lindy - 6/14/2010 11:22:45 PM
- All too common a tale - podrock - 6/14/2010 10:54:27 PM
- Pathfinder minerals and elements - podrock - 6/14/2010 10:39:57 PM
- Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm curious... - ER - 6/14/2010 9:10:24 PM
- What I'm getting at. - Lee - 6/14/2010 9:07:32 PM
- Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm curious... - podrock - 6/14/2010 8:54:33 PM
- Re: "Uniquely Western Anglo Saxon" - ER - 6/14/2010 8:51:05 PM
  - Awright now John Wayne and Errol Flynn - Jody - 6/15/2010 4:52:45 PM
  - It sure smells like a duck to me. - ER - 6/15/2010 11:08:13 AM
    - Paraphrase - Eri - 6/15/2010 6:12:19 PM
      - Re: Paraphrase - TB - 6/15/2010 6:42:14 PM
    - Re: It sure smells - TB - 6/15/2010 4:23:52 PM
  - Re: Cultural suicide - TB - 6/15/2010 4:08:03 AM
    - BTW, happy Flag Day (n/t) - TB - 6/15/2010 4:37:16 AM
      - Post Removed - Eri - 6/15/2010 12:49:11 PM
  - Misplaced Post (n/t) - TB - 6/15/2010 4:05:30 AM
  - Cultural suicide/True Patriotism - er - 6/15/2010 3:03:50 AM
    - Outstanding ER n/t (n/t) - mcfly - 6/15/2010 5:25:39 PM
  - Cultural suicide - TB - 6/15/2010 1:19:02 AM
- Re: Re: Re: I'm curious... - ER - 6/14/2010 8:36:33 PM
- Re: Re: Sailboat Abby - ER - 6/14/2010 8:20:54 PM
  - Re: Re: Re: Sailboat Abby - TB - 6/15/2010 12:16:05 AM
- Re: Re: I'm curious... - podrock - 6/14/2010 8:15:48 PM
- Re: I'm curious... - ER - 6/14/2010 8:09:12 PM
- Much more from the USGS: - podrock - 6/14/2010 7:51:13 PM
- Oil in Afghanistan? - podrock - 6/14/2010 7:49:00 PM
  - Re: Every permit requires a bribe - TB - 6/15/2010 1:22:03 AM
  - Every permit requires a bribe - Lindy - 6/15/2010 12:49:09 AM
  - Getting it out is the problem. - podrock - 6/14/2010 11:34:32 PM
  - I figured it was there. - Eri - 6/14/2010 8:46:49 PM
- "Uniquely Western Anglo Saxon" - TB - 6/14/2010 7:22:35 PM
- Gems are Minerals - podrock - 6/14/2010 7:08:04 PM
- Re: Sailboat Abby - TB - 6/14/2010 7:06:19 PM
- I'm curious... - podrock - 6/14/2010 6:57:19 PM
- From the USGS: - podrock - 6/14/2010 6:53:10 PM
- Re: Re: The Great Game - and a reality show for Sailboat Abby - ER - 6/14/2010 5:44:50 PM
- Not uniquely "Western Anglo Saxon" - ER - 6/14/2010 5:06:24 PM
- Gems are made of minerals - Lee - 6/14/2010 4:10:16 PM
- Re: The Great Game - TB - 6/14/2010 3:56:01 PM
- Re: Big Winners - TB - 6/14/2010 3:51:43 PM
- Re: Well Afghanistan is a country in name only. - er - 6/14/2010 3:49:42 PM
- Someone went quail hunting in Afghanistan a long time ago - Jody - 6/14/2010 3:45:20 PM
- So would I. - er - 6/14/2010 3:43:20 PM
- Well Afghanistan is a country in name only. - Lee - 6/14/2010 3:42:22 PM
- the goldwater solutions - er - 6/14/2010 3:37:25 PM
  - Re: the goldwater solutions - TB - 6/14/2010 3:47:42 PM
- Re: Take two lithiums - TB - 6/14/2010 3:34:06 PM
- Afghanistan is rich in gems. - Lee - 6/14/2010 3:12:51 PM
- Take two lithiums and call me in the morning - er - 6/14/2010 3:07:26 PM
  - Do you have a laptop, cellphone, Ipod, etc.? - Jeff-Wash - 6/15/2010 5:54:50 PM
- Re: Re: Economic game changer in Afghanistan - TB - 6/14/2010 2:27:59 PM
- Good news, bad news. - Eri - 6/14/2010 1:32:43 PM
- Holy crap - Jody - 6/14/2010 12:09:49 PM
- Re: Economic game changer in Afghanistan? - ER - 6/14/2010 12:06:23 PM

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