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:
https://energy.virginia.gov/geology/Kyanite.shtml
How did I not know this??? π€― π€ Most ordinary porcelain is basically mullite and glass. π Mullite - first found in nature in samples from Mull, and named by Norman Bowen, and co-workers, in 1924. Although rare in nature, it is a ubiquitous material in industrial and other ceramics. #Mull #Mullite #Mineralogy #Geology #Porcelain #ceramics
PS pdf of Bowen et al's paper available on the superb rruff website: https://rruff.info/uploads/JWAS14_183.pdf
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:
https://energy.virginia.gov/geology/Kyanite.shtml
#MinCup24 #Kyanite #Mullite #Virginia #Piedmont #Appalachians
Bill Minarik
John Faithfull ππͺπΊπ΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώπ§‘βπ»βπΏ
John FaithfullππͺπΊπ΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώπ§‘ βπΌβπΏ