Minerals I - M

 

(Mammoth) Ivory

Organic Gemstone
Chemical composition: calcium phosphate
Hardness: 2 - 3 

Ivory originally only referred to the material of the elephant's tusk. Today it is also the teeth of the hippopotamus, narwhal, walrus, wild boar, and fossilized mammoth. Since 1989, there has been a worldwide ban on ANY trade in elephant's ivory.

 

Jet

Organic Gemstone
Chemical composition: lignite
Hardness: 2.5 - 4
Jet is a bituminous coal that can be polished

 

Kunzite

Location: Afghanistan, Brazil, Madagascar
Vitreous pink to lilac color.
Variety of: Spodumene 
Chemical Composition: LiAlSi2 O6, Lithium Aluminum Silicate
Hardness: 6.5 - 7

 

Kyanite


Chemical composition: Al 2SiO 5
Hardness: 4.5-5
Location:  Myanmar, Cambodia, Kenya, Nepal, Tibet, Brazil, Switzerland, Russia, and certain states in America

 

Labradorite

Location: Madagascar, Canada, Finland, & more
It displays a particular type of iridescence on a dark to light smoke gray background.
Chemical Composition: NaAlSi3O8 to CaAl2Si2O8 (Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate)
Hardness: 6 - 6.5

 

Lapis Lazuli

Location: Afghanistan, Chile, Siberia, the United States, and Myanmar
Chemical Composition: (Na, Ca)8Al6Si6O24(S, SO4) , Sodium Calcium Aluminum Silicate Sulfur Sulfate
Hardness: 5 - 5.5

 

Larimar

Location: Dominican Republic
Chemical Composition: NaCa₂Si₃O₈(OH)
Hardness: 4.5-5
Variety of the silicate mineral pectolite

 

Lepidolite

Location: Worldwide, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Madagascar, Russia, Sweden, United States, Western Australia
Chemical Composition: KLi2Al(Al, Si)3O10(F, OH)2, Potassium lithium aluminum silicate hydroxide fluoride
Hardness: 2.5

 

Lingam

Also known as the "Tantric Linga"
Location: India
"Crypto Crystalline Quartz"

 

Malachite

Location: Congo, Gabon, Zambia, Namibia, Mexico, Australia, Russia
Chemical Composition: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2, Copper Carbonate Hydroxide
Hardness: 3.5-4

 

Moldavite

Location: Czech Republic
Chemical Composition: mostly silica glass with impurities of magnesium, iron and other elements
Hardness: 5 - 6

 

Moonstone


Location: Madagascar, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Armenia, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States
Chemical Composition: KAISi3O8
Hardness: 6 - 6.5

 

Morganite

Location: Brazil, Afghanistan, Mozambique, Namibia, USA
Variety of: Beryl
Chemical Composition: Be3 Al2 Si6 O18
Hardness: 7.5 - 8