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Sphalerite Presented specimen is unique because of the locus of occurrence holomorphic zinc and lead ores. It takes the form of fine-grained, dense masses, which, after surface polishing, are very effective - as in the case of our sphalerite. |
Calcite with marcasite Presented specimen is a dense and grainy aggregate of marcasite, on which surface grown the crystals of calcite. |
Calcite (“druse”) Calcite is a mineral of the carbonate class, also known as calcium carbonate. Its name derives from the Greek word chalix and the Latin word calx (calcis) – meaning “calcium”, which is a reference to the traditional application of this mineral. It develops isometric, plate, prism and needle crystals. |
Grinder of a mammoth “Mammuthus Primigenius” The presented object is a grinder of a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus Primigenius) – an extinct herbivorous mammal of the elephantine family. |
“Kidney-shaped” malachite Malachite is a mineral of the carbonate class, one of the most common minerals and it is widely spread throughout the Earth’s crust. From antiquity, it has been valued as an ornamental stone, amulet and as a medicine. Malachite has been used to produce jewellery, household goods, facing plates used for interior finishing, as well as green dyes and paints. |
Concentration of halite crystals Halite is a mineral from the halides group; its main component is sodium chloride (NaCl). A monomineral rock composed of halite constitutes halite rock salt, commonly known as rock salt. The presented specimen has a historical nature and it comes from the Crystal Grotto in the Wieliczka Salt Mine. |
Ferruginous quartz Quartz is a mineral belonging to the silicate group, mainly made of silicon dioxide. It is one of the most abundant rock-forming minerals present in the Earth’s crust. It is a brittle and transparent mineral. It can develop numerous colour variants, depending on its composition. It can be colourless, as well. Such quartz is called rock crystal. |
Star-shaped quartz Quartz is a mineral belonging to the silicate group, mainly made of silicon dioxide. It is one of the most abundant rock-forming minerals present in the Earth’s crust. It is a brittle and transparent mineral. It can develop numerous colour variants, depending on its composition. It can be colourless, as well. Such quartz is called rock crystal. |
Marcasite from “Pomorzany” Coalmine Marcasite is a common mineral, which is finding mainly in sedimentary rocks, like limestones, marls or clayey rocks. It belongs to the class of sulphides. Marcasite at increased temperatures undergoes irreversibly in pyrite, because it is a impermanent form of pyrite. Marcasite and pyrite are polymorphic variants of iron sulfide. It has a brass-yellow color with a greenish tinge and a metallic sheen. |
Sphalerite from “Pomorzany” Coalmine Delusive, sneaky, deceptive, uncertain ... What makes sphalerite deserved such adjectives? For a very long time, geologists couldn’t identify this mineral. Finally, the study confirmed that it is a zinc ore. |
Native bismuth Native bismuth is a mineral of the native element group, which very rarely occurs in nature, developing small rhombohedral or cuboid forms that resemble crystals. It usually develops grainy aggregates – compact, lamellate or dendritic. |
Halite crystals from Crystal Grottoes Aggregate, the accumulation of minerals among rocks of different composition and structure, is the dictionary definition of the features of this specimen. |
Halite crystals A beautifully educated crystal seems to be something almost magical. Its transparent regular form immediately raises suspicion about the intentionality of the “creator”. However, the mystery has been revealed long time ago. Each mineral, including halite, is a crystal. |
Cellular dolostone Dolostone is a sedimentary carbonate rock of chemical origin, composed mainly of a mineral called dolomite. Due to the different forms of its development, we can single out primeval dolomites, which develop as a result of the direct precipitation of dolomite from sea or lake water rich in magnesium, and secondary dolomites, which develop by the process of the partial supplantation of calcium carbonate by magnesium carbonate. |
Sphalerite — Galena Sphalerite is a zinc blende; and galena, is a lead sulfide (lat. galena means lead ore), both are common minerals from the class of sulphide. |
Limonite dripstone Limonite (brown iron ore) is a fine-grained or cryptocrystalline mixture of iron oxides and hydroxides which used to be regarded as a separate mineral, and now it is regarded as a type of rock. It is mainly made of goethite, a mineral of the hydroxide class. |
Septarian concretion of polygonal pattern Septarian, marlite or clayish and ferruginous concretion is a type of spherical, elliptical or lens-shaped aggregate of minerals occurring within sedimentary rocks, e.g. loam. |
Halite with organic inclusions This specimen from the collection of The Geological Museum of the AGH University of Science and Technology is unusual, because in its crystal structure is a foreign body. This phenomenon is called inclusion (known as organic infix too). Inclusion has its strict regularities, for example – the presence of another mineral in the mineral, like diamond in a diamond structure. Sometimes, completely by accident... |
Halite crystals on the watering can A wooden watering can, covered with salt crystals, is undoubtedly an original, but also a typical, object. Many of the objects left by the miners in the mine, especially those that were sunk in brine (salt water), changed their appearance and... |
Ammonite mineralised with quartz and chalcedony Presented ammonite is unique, because of its individual mineralization, which is very rarely in the singular objects from this area. Mineralization with chalcedony and quartz, on line of the helix, created holes with a rich and colorful cross-section. Thanks to this... |