Examples of individual pyroxene minerals that hold a place in industry and commerce are described below:

Spodumene

Spodumene often occurs in colorful gem-quality crystals. These beautiful blade-shaped crystals are highly prized by mineral collectors. When cut as gems, they have varietal names according to their color: kunzite (pink), hiddenite (green), and triphane (yellow).

Spodumene was once the most important ore of lithium metal – until the late 1900s, when subsurface brines with high concentrations of lithium were developed in Argentina, Chile, China and other locations. These brines can be pumped to the surface, allowed to evaporate, and lithium is easily processed from the evaporite material. Today, very little lithium is produced from spodumene.