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What is it and where is
it formed?
Amethyst is the birthstone for February. It is usually
attached to granite rock. It is found with
igneous,
metamorphic, and
sedimentary rocks. -
How and where is it mined? Amethyst is mined using underground mining. Many times it is found using drift mining. Amethyst is not in veins. It is chunks attached to granite. [Little Gems mining information] It is mined in: Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Canada, Zambia, South Africa, and the United States (North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania, Arizona).
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What is it used for? It is used in jewelry and stones for display.
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Interesting Information:
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The most valuable amethysts are transparent.
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One superstition about Amethysts is that they
will keep you safe from death, poison, and witchcraft. -
Amethyst is a kind of quartz.
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| Mineral Characteristic |
What the mineralogists say |
Kid's Guide: What it REALLY means! |
| Chemical Symbol | SiO2 | It has oxygen and silicon in it. |
| Color | Purple | True amethysts are always purple. |
| Streak | White | If you crush this stone, it will make a white dust. |
| Transparency | Opaque to transparent | If you look through this stone, you might see clearly through it, have it be blurry, or not be able to see through it at all. There are a lot of different kinds. |
| Luster | Vitreous | It shines like glass. |
| Cleavage | None | It will not break evenly, in the same pattern, each time. |
| Fracture | Conchoidal | If it shatters, the pieces will have smooth surfaces. |
| Magnetism | None | It is not attracted to and will not attract a magnet. |
| Hardness | 7 | It is above average in hardness. It will scratch glass. |
| Specific gravity | 2.65 | It is about average in weight. If you held a stone, it would seem to be the right weight for its size. |
| Crystal Shape | Trigonal |
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