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Uses of Mariposite
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…
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Mariposite Mineral Localities
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.
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The Metamorphic Rock Called “Mariposite”
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…
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Is Mariposite a Mineral?
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…
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What Is Mariposite?
“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…
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Uses of Pegmatite
Pegmatite rock has very few uses. However, pegmatite deposits often contain gemstones, industrial minerals, and rare minerals. ARCHITECTURAL STONE Pegmatite rock has limited use as an architectural stone. Occasionally it is encountered in a dimension stone quarry that produces granite for architectural use. If the pegmatite is sound and attractive, it might be cut into slabs and polished…
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Rare Minerals in Large Crystals
In the early stages of crystallization, the ions that form high-temperature minerals are depleted from the melt. Rare ions that do not participate in the crystallization of common rock-forming minerals become concentrated in the melt and in the excluded water. These ions can form the rare minerals that are often found in pegmatites. Examples are small ions…
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Activity at the Margins of a Batholith
Pegmatites form from waters that separate from a magma in the late stages of crystallization; this activity often occurs in small pockets along the margins of a batholith. Pegmatite can also form in fractures that develop on the margins of the batholith. This is how “pegmatite dikes” are formed. Because these dikes and pockets are small in size,…
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The Rock with Large Crystals
Large crystals in igneous rocks are usually attributed to a slow rate of crystallization. However, with pegmatites, large crystals are attributed to low-viscosity fluids that allow ions to be very mobile. During the early states of a magma’s crystallization, the melt usually contains a significant amount of dissolved water and other volatiles such as chlorine,…
