ElementOrePictureFormulaDescription and information

ChromeChromiteFeCr2O4Dark and opaque. Slighty shiny. Chromite is the only ore of chromium. Chromium is used to plate other metals (as chrome), since it is shiny and doesn't rust.

Chromite bricks are used to line blast furnaces, as they can resist extremely high temperatures.

LeadCerussitePbCO3White or grey. these crystals have combined or twinned to form an interesting shape.Cerussite was used as an early cosmetic. Elizabeth the First used cerussite as a cosmetic for whiten her face. Since it is poisonous, it damaged the skin

GalenaPbSShiny with square crystals interlocking with each other. The thing you notice most with galena is how heavy it is.Galena was used as as an early cosmetic like cerussite. Nowadays, lead is used in storage batteries.

MercuryCinnabarHgSRedMercury (sometimes called quicksilver) is a liquid metal. It is used for thermometers.

BariumBariteBaSO4transparent or whitish translucent. Its crystals can be like the ones in the photograph, or they can be flakes. The lustre of a mineral describes how it reflects light. Metals often have a metallic lustre, which means that they're very shiny. Barite has a vitreous lustre, which means that it looks like glass.Barium is used as a dressing for textiles, as an additive to paper pulp, and in sugar refining.

ZincZinciteZnOOrange and translucent, or transparent.Zinc combined with copper makes brass. Zinc is also used in batteries.

SphaleriteZnSDark and shiny. The photograph shows sphalerite crystals, but they are the dark lumps.Sphalerite looks similar to galena, hence its name. Originally miners thought that sphalerite was useless, before it was discovered that it is a rich zinc ore.

TinCassiteriteSnO2Reddish brown. It can have crystals, although this specimen is massive (meaning the crystals are so small that you can't see them).Tin used to be slang for money, perhaps because it looked like silver. Coins were never made of tin! Tin cans are so-called because they were made of steel coated in tin. tin is still used for coating metals.

LithiumKunziteLiAlSi2O6Whitish crystal, sometimes looking pink.Kunzite is dichromatic, which means that it shows different colours if you look at it in different directions.

StrontiumCelestineSrSO4Pale blue translucent crystals, although it can be white.

NiobiumColumbite(Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)2O6Brownish black to black crystals.Columbite contains both Niobium and Tantalum.

ManganeseManganiteMnO(OH)Black needle crystal.Manganese is used to make alloy steels. Steel is mostly iron, but has other metals such as Manganese in it.

Rhodonite(Mn,Fe,Ca)SiO3The gleamy pink stuff is rhodonite. There are often black veins in it.

RhodochrositeMnCO3Usually pink and white stripes.Rhodochrosite is sometimes used as jewelry. It is similar to Rhodonite. You can tell the difference between them as Rhodonite is darker pink, and can have black bits in, while Rhodochrosite is pale pink, with white bits in.

ArsenicOrpimentAs2S3Bright yellow. If exposed to light, it tends to turn red.Orpiment used to be used as a pigment. Arsenic is used in semi-conductors.

RealgarAsSRedThe Realgar in this specimen is the red streaks.Realgar used to be used as a pigment, although it was poisonous, as it is an ore of Arsenic.

AntimonyStibniteSb2S3Shiny grey metal crystals coming to a point.This was used as a medicine by the Greeks and Romans, and also as a cosmetic "to dilate women's eyes"

UraniumAutuniteCa(UO2)2

edentniteteion(PO4)2.10-12H2OYellowish green. It crumbles easily.Uranium is radioactive. It is used to generate electricity, and also in nuclear weapons.

TitaniumSpheneCaTiSiO5Greenish yellow translucent wedge-shaped crystal. Sphene can be opaque and almost black.Sphene is an ore of titanium, which has a very high melting point, and is used to make high-speed planes.

VanadiumVanadinitePb5(VO4)3ClBrownish red hexangonal crystalsA compound of Vanadium is also an important catalyst in the manufacture of sulphuric acid. A catalyst is a chemical which helps a chemical reaction to happen, without being changed itself by the reaction.

MolybdenumMolybdeniteMoS2Hexangonal shiny metallic crystal, which you can bend easily.Molydbenite contains Molybdenum, which is used in the manufacture of steel. It is also used as a solid lubricant (to reduce friction).

GoldGoldAuBright yellow metal.Gold is a precious metal. It has been widely used for jewelry, as it is fairly soft and easy for work, it never rusts or tarnishes, and it is an attractive colour. The sample above is natural gold in quartz. It is covered with varnish to protect it.

SilverSilverAgBright silver metal.Silver is a precious metal. It is used for jewelry, but it tends to tarnish. It was used for cutlery and tea-pots, and often handed down as heirlooms.

IronPyriteFeS2Pyrite is shiny and faintly tinged with yellow. Pyrites has two different shapes of crystals.Pyrite is sometimes called Fool's Gold, although chalcopyrite is perhaps more convincing.

It is possible to find pyrites crystals as simple shapes, but usually these are several crystals jumbled together.

MarcasiteFeS2

Marcasite is very similar to Pyrites. It is slightly lighter,and the crystals are sometimes spear-like.

HematiteFe2O3

There are several different formas of Hematite. There is the dull red, opaque, dull, botryoidal (or blobby) form. There is a very shiny, dark metal (which is sometimes a crystal), and there is Rainbow Hematite, which shimers with colour.

GoethiteFeO(OH)Dark brown crystals. This photograph shows goethite crystals on grey rock.Goethite has the same chemical formula as Limonite, which can be bright yellow! Yellow Limonite is yellow ochre, which has been used as a pigment for paint and cosmetics throughout history and before

MagnetiteFe3O4Dark grey, slightly shiny.Magnetite is naturally magnetic. It is also called Lodestone.

CopperCopperCuCopper is a beautiful colour, pinky gold. Since it is a metal, it is shiny (metallic lustre) and opaque. It is also quite heavy. Sometimes, you see crystals.copper is used for water pipes (rather than lead, which is poisonous), and electrical wiring.

MalachiteCu2CO3(OH)2Malachite has a particular shade of green, which is easy to recognise. It has layers of pale and dark green, which can show as straight, curved or wiggly lines. It is opaque. It is botryoidal (blobby).

ChalcopyriteCuFeS2Chalcopyrite is silvery with a golden tinge to it.Chalcopyrite, or copper pyrites, has been mistaken for gold, just as iron pyrites has, so both minerals are called Fool's Gold. Chalcopyrites is yellower

TurquoiseCuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8.5H2OThe mineral Turquoise gives its name to the colour, but it can also be pale blue. Opaque.

Peacock OreCu5FeS4The iridescent colours are on the surface, as a tarnish. They include green, yellow, blue, reddish-purple ... The mineral is opaque.Peacock ore has several other names, Bornite, Erubescite and Variegated copper ore.

AzuriteCu3(CO3)2(OH)2Azurite is dark blue. It can have flat crystals.

DioptaseCuSiO2(OH)2Dioptase has brilliant green transparent crystals.It is a far more vivid green than this. The grey part round the back is a piece of rock where the crystals grow, called the "matrix".