Mariposite is most important for being an ore of gold and a source of placer gold. It has been cut as a dimension stone to produce cemetery markers, fireplaces, facing stone and other architectural works. It is a material that can be used where strength and weather resistance are not required. Much mariposite will weather…

Use of the name “mariposite” for green micas has also spread across the world. Mindat.org lists numerous mariposite localities in the United States (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee, Utah, Washington), Austria, Canada, China, France, Ireland, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela.

The name “mariposite” is also used for rocks. The rocks contain enough particles of green mica to produce a green color. These rocks are metamorphic, have been altered by hydrothermal activity, and they are usually thought to have a serpentinite protolith. The green mica usually accounts for a small percentage of the rock, with the…

The name “mariposite” has appeared in the geological literature since the late 1800s. “Mariposite” is not the name of a formally recognized mineral. Instead, it is an informal name that has been widely used for various types of mica with a green color. Green micas are often called “mariposite,” which implies that an identification has been…

“Mariposite” is an informal name that is most often used for green micas that are thought to be colored by small amounts of chromium. The name “mariposite” has also been used for a group of green and white metamorphic rocks that contain significant amounts of green mica. “Mariposite” has been used in many different contexts since the…