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What is it and where is it formed?
Garnets are the birthstone for January. It is a gemstone
that can be formed in
igneous and
metamorphic rocks.
Garnets help scientists understand what’s inside the Earth
because there are lots of them in the lower crust and
mantle. |
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How and where is it mined?
Most of the time,
open pit mining is used to find garnets.
Garnets are mined in Europe, Russia, and South Africa. |
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What is it used for?
Garnets are used in jewelry. Most of the garnets that are
mined aren’t good enough for jewelry. These are used to
make a sand paper that is called garnet paper. Garnets are
used to help sand and polish other things. |
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Most people think that garnets are only deep, dark red,
but they can be any color. |
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Mineral Characteristic |
What the
mineralogists say |
Kid's Guide: What it REALLY
means! |
| Chemical Symbol |
CA3Al2(SIO4)3 |
This
stone has calcium, aluminum, silicon, and iron in it. |
| Color |
Red,
red-brown |
It
is most often found in a dark red color. |
| Streak |
White |
For
mineral identification, if you crushed this stone, the
powder would be white. |
| Transparency |
Transparent |
You
can see through it. |
| Luster |
Vitreous |
It
shines like glass when you hold it up to light. |
| Cleavage |
None |
When
hit with a hammer, it will not break into recognizable
sheets or layers. |
| Fracture |
Conchoidal; brittle |
When
it breaks, the surfaces are smooth and shell like. The
stone breaks into pieces easily. |
| Magnetism |
None |
It
is not attracted to and will not attract a magnet. |
| Hardness |
7 |
It
is a very hard rock and will scratch glass. |
| Specific gravity |
4 |
If
you held this mineral, it would seem heavy compared to
its size. |
| Crystal Shape |
Cubic |
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Garnets used to
be crushed and ground
up for people who had fevers. Superstitious
people think that you will be safe if you take garnets with you on a
trip. |
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