okanogen VerminEnemyFromWithinSep 20, 2023
I championed #Lawsonite against #Corundum (quite rightly!), but I have to go #TeamCorundum against #Topaz, because after all, it's just better. #MinCup23
Vote soon! Vote once!
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/campaigns/campaigns/round-2-match-4
Vote in Round 2 Match 4 — Mineral Cup

If you thought last round featured some hard battles, we were just getting started! But being the standard for Mohs Hardness only scratches the surface of the ways these gorgeous gems are valued every day. Who wins in the battle of beauty and brawn between Topaz (Mohs 8) and Corundum (Mohs 9)?

Mineral Cup
dlwSep 9, 2023
voting for #sepiolite because mercury is not a mineral (above about -38 degrees, C and F). Also, there are extensive sepiolite deposits in Turkey near one of the world’s greatest #lawsonite localities, both associated with the same serpentinites. #MinCup23
dlwSep 8, 2023
#corundum is red, corundum is blue. So what, #lawsonite is too. #MinCup23. (Image from Marin Minerals)
dlwSep 8, 2023
Although #lawsonite can have competition from #titanite (#sphene) and #epidote in blueschists, in eclogites and other high-pressure rocks, lawsonite rules the trace elements. It can contain most or all of the uranium, lead, thorium, and strontium, as well as buckets of rare earth elements (figure from Lithos 370-371, 2020, 105636). #MinCup23
dlwSep 8, 2023
#lawsonite likes to hang out with #glaucophane as they slide down subduction zones, ready to save the planet by bringing water into the deep.
#MinCup23
GeologistsCatSep 8, 2023

Today I have no choice but to be in #TeamCorundum in the #MinCup23 duel #Corundum vs #Lawsonite. Apparently one of the humans loves #sapphire very much. Picture taken during evening #hike/#hedgewatch on #LaGomera

#mineral #mincup2023

Elizabeth VSep 8, 2023
Gotta vote #corundum today for #MinCup24 because sapphires and rubies have always been some of my favorite gemstones and one of things that got me interested in rocks and minerals as a kid. Sorry #lawsonite
YanaSep 8, 2023
I'm loving the #MinCup23 because it's been getting minerals like #corundum and #lawsonite trending. My mother's wedding ring actually has some corundum (sapphire), so I'm partial to that one in today's matchup.
dlwSep 8, 2023
#lawsonite can also be green! Images from mindat.org. In some cases what appears to be lawsonite is #epidote and other minerals that have replaced lawsonite within the confines of the original crystal, forming a pseudomorph. #MinCup23
Bill MinarikSep 8, 2023

Are the oceans leaky bathtubs? #Lawsonite is partially responsible! 20% of the ocean's water may lave drained into the deep mantle over the last billion years.*

Don't blame Canada! The Cascade subduction zone is too warm. #MinCup23 #Geology #Minerals #WaterCycle

* Korenaga, Planavsky, & Evans (2017) Phil. Trans. A.