#kyanite

2025-10-16

Rare blue yoderite replacing kyanite (-talc + quartz). Only found in two places on Earth (Tanzania and Zimbabwe), yoderite forms at high pressure in hot subduction zones from rocks rich in in Mg and Al, poor in alkalis and Ca, in the presence of water and oxidized ferric iron (±Mn).

Named after Hat Yoder of the Geophysical Lab, CIW.

#ThinSectionThursday #Yoderite #Kyanite #Whiteschist #Subduction #CarnegieInstitutionWashington #Tanzania #Zimbabwe

Blue yoderite ( Mg(Al,Fe3+)3(SiO4)2O(OH) ) surrounding remnant kyanite with talc and quartz. Plane polarized transmitted light.Yoderite surrounding remnant kyanite with talc and quartz. Cross polarized transmitted light.
2025-10-02

And here are color versions of the 32 minerals in #MinCup25 placed on the bracket.

Winner #Kyanite, runner up #Tugtupite

Drawings by Fernando Salvaterra on BlueSky(@salvaterra.bsky.social)

The Mineral Cup 2025 bracket with color drawings of all the minerals. By Fernando Salvaterra on BlueSky(@salvaterra.bsky.social)
2025-10-02

@tsherrygeo @MineralCup the Al2SiO5 polymorphs are awesome, and #kyanite is the best of them!

Mineral CupMineralCup
2025-10-02

We have a champion!!

Congratulations, !
mineralcup.org/2025

After eight years of competing, another few hours to verify votes was nothing, right?

Amazing first run, , and better luck next year.

2025-10-01

With #Kyanite in the final, better purchase your samples today (from your favourite retailer) before the prices go up!

Own the winner for a reasonable cost!

#MinCup25

Bulk Kyanite from AliExpressBulk Kyanite from Amazon
2025-10-01

The Montreal Gem and Mineral Show is happening at the end of the month in the main convention center (Le Palais des Congrès).

No guarantee of fantastic #Tugtupite or #Kyanite samples, but many others for sure. There's always a good representation of Canadian and Quebec localities.

#MinCup25 #Montreal #Quebec #Canada #MontSaintHilaire #Grenville #Minerals

The advertisement for the Montreal Gem and Mineral show, 24-26 October 2025.
2025-10-01

Wouldn't it be amazing to have a kitchen counter top made from kyanite?!

Photos from:
primestones.com/blogs/kyanite-

#MinCup25 #Kyanite

A closeup of a stone countertop with the blue mineral kyanite:
https://primestones.com/blogs/kyanite-a-blue-gem/Blue kyanite-bearing rock forms the backsplash of a sink
https://primestones.com/blogs/kyanite-a-blue-gem/
Mineral CupMineralCup
2025-10-01

Final: After a month of learning and laughter, victory and heartbreak, we’re at the final match to determine the 2025 Mineral Cup Champion! We have blue blades of up against optical magician .

Vote: mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r5m01
Results: mineralcup.org/2025/results/r5

Mineral CupMineralCup
2025-09-30

With 5.5 hours remaining to vote, has the lead by under 40 votes over .

Campaign for your fav and recruit new players to pick which mineral will compete in the finals against !

2025-09-29

I have a half hour to choose.

#MinCup25 Semifinals 1: #hematite vs #kyanite.

Hematite reminds me of being 15 and thinking I was so cool for buying an amazing hematite anklet for the beach.

So, do I go the the familiar, hematite, that let is figure out how oxygen transformed our planet 3 billion years ago or do I go with the pretty, lovely gemstone worth kyanitethat feels exotic?

mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4m01

2025-09-29

Repost: Kyanite isn't just a fetching blue mineral that documents the experience of sediments under extreme duress.
It's an ore: Virginia alone mined 83,000 tonnes in 2023. Kyanite in furnace insulation transforms to mullite when heated, expanding to reduce porosity and shrinkage.

Virginia Kyanite (photo: J. Wyman) from:
energy.virginia.gov/geology/Ky

#MinCup25 #Kyanite #Mullite #Virginia #Appalachians

Kyanite quartzite from Baker Mountain deposit, Prince Edward Co., VA. Photograph: J. Wyman
Mineral CupMineralCup
2025-09-29

Semifinals 1: It's a battle of classic minerals for red vs blue .

Vote: mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4m01
Results: mineralcup.org/2025/results/r4

2025-09-28

This is one of the dykes found near Ayer's Cliff, just SE of Magog, Quebec. It's a set of three dykes, one of which has the deep-derived xenoliths. That one dyke (not photogenic) has weathered much faster, perhaps due to a higher carbonate content.
#kyanite #MinCup25 #Quebec #Xenolith #Grenville #Appalachians

Mineral CupMineralCup
2025-09-28

QF3 UPDATED RESULTS:
win and will continue on to the semi-finals.

We’re so sorry for the false hope, fans, but we caught 3 players stuffing the ballot box in the final hours. Once their excess votes were removed, Kyanite’s lead returned (although you did close the gap a lot!)

2025-09-27

A photo of a Cretaceous dyke intruding into Appalachian-deformed sedimentary rocks deposited in the lower Paleozoic: Earth history from 110 to almost 500 million years ago.

But #kyanite records more of the story: it's part of xenoliths brought to the surface by these dykes that document Grenville crust (1.1 billion years old) at depth.

See: Trzcienski: Kyanite-garnet-bearing Cambrian rocks and Grenville granulites from the Ayer's Cliff, Quebec... Geology (1989)
#MinCup25 #Quebec #Appalachians

A photo of an igneous dyke intruding into metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, exposed as a low outcrop (an old road cut). This is one of the dykes found near Ayer's Cliff, Quebec (just SE of Magog).
Ele Willoughby, PhDminouette@spore.social
2025-09-27

Look “space green” kosmochlor may be of meteorite origin and occasionally carved as it’s associated with jadeite, but blue kyanite definitely gets the arts vote for jewelry and use in porcelain and pottery glazes. Plus is gets physics points as an index mineral. #MinCup25

Vote for kyanite here: mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r3m03

#EarthSci
#scicomm #kyanite #minerals #arthist

Kyanite is a naturally occurring aluminum silicate mineral that typically forms as bladed crystals, and occasionally it occurs as radiating masses of crystals. The name kyanite is derived from the Greek word kyanos which means “blue.” Gem quality kyanite has a royal blue color similar to fine sapphire. This material is highly prized by those who cut gemstones. Kyanite can be cut en cabochon, faceted, or fashioned into beads, however its variability in hardness and color zoning can make it difficult to fashion and facet. Transparent intense blue kyanite is beautiful and is considered to be an exotic gemstone because it is not often seen in jewelry. Kyanite is predominately found in shades of blue and green, but it can also be yellow, white and orange. This 5.87ct gem is an intense deep blue color and the largest and finest kyanite from Nepal in the National Gem Collection.  Smithsonian Museum"Elephant and two boys Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Date: 19th century Culture: China Medium: Kosmochlor jadeitite Dimensions: H. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); W. 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm) Classification: Jade Credit Line: Bequest of Edmund C. Converse, 1921 Object Number: 21.175.113 This sculpture of two boys seated on a crouching elephant is from the Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/43285TABLE DECORATION, silver, stone, stamped Grupo Gal, bird with back feathers consisting of kyanite / cyanite. Height about 21 cm, length about 37 cm. https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/TABLE-DECORATION-silver-stone-stamped-Grupo-Gal-bird-with-back-feathers-consisting-of-kyanite-cyanite/2201421-table_decoration-28.4.22-stockholmvessel with kyanite stoneware glaze via https://firedupkilns.com.au/shop/ols/products/kyanite-stoneware-glaze
Mineral CupMineralCup
2025-09-27

Quarterfinals 3: It's a showdown between Team Green and Team Blue for vs .

Vote: mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r3m03
Results: mineralcup.org/2025/results/r3

Mineral CupMineralCup
2025-09-23
2025-09-13

Reposted from bsky:

#MinCup25 #Kyanite

Photos of blue kyanite

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