Fluorite

Description

Fluorite is the mineral used to determine a hardness of 4 on the Mohs Scale, and it has a specific gravity of 3.175 – 3.56. According to Mindat, it was “named in 1797 by Carlo Antonio Galeani Napione from the Latin, fluere = ‘to flow’ (for its use as a flux). The term fluorescence is derived from fluorite, which will often markedly exhibit this effect. The element fluorine also derives its name from fluorite, a major source of the element.”

WebMineral shows that there’s just about 49% Fluorine and 51% Calcium in this cool mineral, so it’d make for a great sample for element collectors looking to get a representation of the gas or metal in natural form. However, as it is present in three distinct crystals, is completely white, and comes from an historic mine within Colorado, it’s priced a little higher than some of the other Fluorite you could bring home as a sample instead, like this one – https://youtu.be/YAc6HTmxaMI

This rock was originally added to ColoRockCo with excitement thinking it was from the Gold King Mine, the infamous mine which the EPA used to kill the fish in the Animas River. However, it was later discovered there are two Gold King Mines in Colorado, and that one wasn’t known to produce Fluorite…

Fluorite can vary greatly in value, shape, color, and beauty. It’s been found in more than 11,000 known and recorded localities around the world, so no matter where you may be walking, be sure to keep an eye out for a cool rock like this, and you’ll now possibly be able to identify Fluorite!