#mincup25 — Public Fediverse posts

La cianita. Un mineral generalmente azulado que es PRECIOSO. Pasó esa ronda, pero ahora va media docena de votos por detrás. ME HACÉIS EL FAVOR DE VOTAR "KYANITE". Gracies. www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r5... #MinCup25 #TeamKyanite

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:cwlkznb3nuoyyqpgporgfbjc/post/3lztu6q2op22s

Vote in 2025 Final Match — Min...

Yay! Dioptase won! I was worried because this whole series is a battle where weird minerals win for reasons that are just odd. Anyone remember the contest for #Paddlewheel or some such weird name? I’ll be in time for the next contest so I can study up a bit before voting. #MinCup25 #Dioptase

One vote can literally make the difference. Vote now! #hematite #SoClose #OnlyMinutesLeft #MinCup25 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology 🔭🪐

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:r6drdfmf5fzdtvuacnfmfiga/post/3lzmp6mzd6227

On rocks, from Mineral Cup’s admin, @mikamckinnon
She writes:
#Hematite is a key mineral in banded iron formations. And BIFs are my BFFs

Very well done! BIFs make their appearance around minute five.

https://www.ted.com/talks/mika_mckinnon_do_you_have_a_rock

Thanks for the heads up
@vickyveritas
@vickyveritas.bsky.social

#MinCup25 #BandedIronFormation #GreatOxidationEvent #Stromatolites #EarthHistory #EarthSystemScience

Today, molybdenum is one of the most common trace elements in the ocean due to oxidative weathering of #Molybdenite. But in the Archean the oceans were reducing, and molybdenum was scarce.

Other nitrogenases evolved to use other transition elements, but Mo-nitrogenase was first, and best.

Molybdenite enables the Earth's biosphere!

#MinCup25 #NitrogenFixation #Nitrogenase #Archean #GreatOxidationEvent #OreCup #OreCup25

I've been eaten by a grue but this match pulled me back because #azurite my beloved,,,,

Look, #kosmochlor is a space rock, big whoop. Did you miss they've also found it terrestrially? (Is it remnants of Other Space Rock? Maybe. Shhhhh.) They buried the lede that it's a #clinopyroxene: it's a *temperature and pressure indicator*. I.e., certain formations, colors, levels of occurrence, etc etc etc, say a LOT about how hot e.g. a magma was, what other minerals and ores might be (geologically) nearby, what stressors were on these rocks over time, etc.

Clinopyroxenes are, for the most part, *scientifically* valuable rather than monetarily, aiui. (#Jadeite is a notable exception.) (#Nephrite is not even a clinopyroxine!) (Freely admit I may be wrong!)

Aaaaanyway: scientifically, yes, it's super cool. Azurite is a favorite and I gotta vote for one of my favorite copper minerals. 😂🤷🏻

(Let's be real, bar a wild upset, the space mineral will win. But azurite tho. Aaaaaaazuuuuuuriiiiiiiite.)

#MineralCup #MinCup #MinCup25

via @MineralCup

https://mastodon.social/@MineralCup/115171447997539735

I’m dying here— that darn green crystal has pulled ahead of the obvious deserving winner of #Azurite for #MinCup25 @MineralCup

Is it game over? Well in US football our favorite could pull off an upset win but here I don’t know. Please vote if you haven’t!

Kosmochlor vs Azurite (planetary science edition)

How Kool is that? Kosmochloric Ca-rich pyroxenes with olivine (Kool grains) were found in dust particles collected from comet 81P/Wild by the Stardust spacecraft.

Although azurite has not been found yet on Mars, Curiosity has detected enhanced abundanced of copper at Gale crater. Azurite is usually found in oxidized zones of Cu-bearing ore deposits.

#MinCup25 #Kosmochlor #Azurite

Here’s a photo of Azurite with smaller amounts of Malachite at the Freudenstein Castle in Freiberg, Germany. Let it lull you into voting for it in Mineral Cup 2025! Only a few hours left… #MinCup25 #Azurite #Geology #Minerals https://www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r1m09

Trivia about these lovely Azurite Suns. This piece with multiple suns (that look like pyrite suns) was displayed by an anonymous collector in the Covention Center main show of the #TucsonGemMineralShow
I saw it at the bottom of a tall glass display case. I must have looked innocent but bedraggled. And poor. Unlikely to buy any of this vendor’s specimens priced $3k to $50k. When I asked permission to take the photo, there was a hesitation and once given, obvious I had to be fast. I got 4 quick as I knelt all the way on the floor. They are shown in that album from 9 years ago.

Wealthy rock collectors often never allow photographs of their top specimens in a place that could attract the attention of thieves. If you see a stunning piece at these shows this may be the last time it is ever in public. Maybe one day it will be featured in Mineralogical Record, the revered journal of geologists and collectors.

I finally got my own azurite suns specimens a few years ago, very small but intact. One day I’ll have to continue my plans of photographing all my own Precious.
#Azurite #MinCup25

Now I simply must pull out more links to my photos in Flickr for #Azurite Why, you ask? Because it’s my favorite day in voting for #MinCup25 ! And just now I checked the results so far and…and…oh no the upstart and unusual green mineral is winning for the first time! And by 40-some votes! So here is my photo for Azurite suns, a very unusual azurite formation as a flag “sun” on pure kaolin clays. When you click my link you can follow the image to link for
a magazine article of the location in Africa to Malbunk Mine and see the small group of miners there and their story.

https://flic.kr/p/E9P2Nu

@minouette Whoa those men in the painting are the very definition of the word dandy! Of course I give my vote to #Azurite for Art! And the color! Yea Antiqity! The votes are now about 1,100 with only 5 or so more hours to vote. Our mineral is only 8 votes in the lead! #MinCup25 has been getting average 1,500 votes daily. It’s a nail-biter today. Thanks for sharing your post.

@theaardvark Oh thank you for noticing it! If anyone looks at my stream today they will see my bombartments throwing #Azurite out to entice the voting in #MinCup25

Omg the voting is hot and heavy now! It’s like 638 to 632, #Azurite leading with only 5 hours or so to go!
Hey, wonder if some people post the tag #MinCup25 will that end up trending today? What say you @MineralCup https://beige.party/@cobalt123/115175113712351748

It’s jumping in heavy voting now, woohoo! #TeamAzurite is leading. But barely! How about another photo I took of azurite
#MinCup25 #Azurite

It's turning into a #MinCup25 NAIL-BITER #Kosmochlor and #azurite are still running neck-and-neck, tied exactly at 483 votes each C'mon, Team Kosmochlor, let's go!

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2etgbwm2s6glwadvacxclucn/post/3lyenfkqih22a

Oh noes! Lots more votes in the last 2 hours but at least cobalt, er I mean Azurite is winning now by 4 votes, 500 to 496. C’mon everybody, go go go vote! #MinCup25 #Azurite

Ta-da! My pinned post in my stream when I migrated over to Mastodon in 2022. This was to show folks I’m the same cobalt as many years on Twitter, as cobalt123 and back further to cobalt and later cobalt please on G+.

But around 2005 I began sharing photos on Flickr where I’ve got only about 10,000 photos. Most are on my CC license if you look at my copyright terms. I saw that last night @MineralCup found and shared this post. They know I’m a fiend for #Azurite and a fan of #MinCup25
https://beige.party/@cobalt123/113371242051665338

PS My favorite color is cobalt blue, ever since I began collecting it at 15. I have a cobalt blue glass collection on maybe 200 pieces now. To me it’s a spiritual color. As I look through the deepest cobalt blue glass towards a light source, I get lost in the mesmerizing glow.

True cobalt glass is getting harder to find, for cobalt is in demand for modern mining also with rare earth minerals. Of course the color leads me to crystals of this color in minerals. You’ll see it in light blues to deepest blue-purple. Other minerals will show the origin being associated with cobalt. Now you know why my nickname is cobalt or a variation of cobalt. Usually people call me cobalt or cobalt123.
BTW, did you vote today? 😄
#Azurite #MinCup25

Here’s the link to VOTE today:

https://www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r1m09

#Azurite #MinCup25

We're awash in #tectosilicate structures this first half of the #MinCup25: five of the first sixteen, including two today.

A #zeolite and a #feldspathoid

Is tectosilirific a word?

Fair enough, they are the major rock-forming minerals of the crust!