Description

Barite is a mineral consisting of Barium sulfate and is generally white or colorless. It is used in the manufacture of paints and paper. Although Barite contains a ‘heavy’ metal, Barium, it is not considered to be a toxic chemical because of its extreme insolubility.

Galena is the natural mineral form of Lead Sulfide. It is the most important Lead ore mineral and is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It is often associated with Sphalerite, Calcite and Fluorite. Galena deposits often contain significant amounts of Silver, Zinc, Cadmium, Antimony Arsenic and Bismuth. It is used as a semiconductor in early wireless communication systems. It is usually dark grey to black in color with a shiny iridescence.

Druzy is a light coating of small crystals on the exterior of another stone. Druzy quartz often occurs on chalcedony, forming a sparkling layer over the microcrystalline silica that makes it up.The coating is, of course, made of quartz. The attraction is all in the sparkle, once a druzy surface is cleaned up it creates tons of little bits of reflected light as the stone is moved. It draws the eye, and it can result in incredible specimens.

Chalcopyrite is a copper iron sulfide mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system. Chalcopyrite has a brassy to golden yellow color, which often resembles Gold. However, its physical properties such as streak and tenacity are very different from Gold and can easily distinguish it. Chalcopyrite is a beautiful mineral, with good crystals being fairly common. Chalcopyrite is rarely found in association with native copper.