Mineral Diversity

By MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

The exhibition "Mineral Diversity" welcomes the virtual public that wishes to know our mineralogical collection of Mines and Metal Museum - MM Gerdau. We are a science and technology museum that presents the metallurgy and mining history in an interactive and playful way just like the Geoscience universe and its wonders. The mineral diversity of part of the collection can be seen in this exhibition due to the beauty of the minerals, shapes, colors, size, national and international scientific relevance and curiosities. Nowadays, the museum's mineral collection has about 4.250 samples, 1.300 in exhibition and 2.950 in technical reserve and includes specimens of Djalma Guimarães Mineralogical Museum (now extinct) and acquisitions.

Imperial Topaz (18th Century) by Lucas D'AmbrosioMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Imperial Topaz

The Imperial Topaz is a rare gem of extreme beauty and has great fascination around the world. In Brazil, it was discovered around 1760's year, in the city of Ouro Preto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It's the dominant place in the world's production of this gem. Until today, this mineral is still extracted on that region. Al2(SiO4)(F,OH)2 - Silicate (Potassium and Aluminium Hydroxide Silicate) - 3,0 x 1,4 x 1,3 cm (bigger crystal).

Spessartine Garnet, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Spessartine Garnet
Lustrous aggregate of Spessartine's dodecahedral crystals, associated with quartz and muscovite on a feldspathic matrix.
Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3 - Silicates
14 x 8 x 2,5 cm

Grossular Garnet, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Grossular Garnet
Translucent raspberry-colored crystal of Grossular Garnet. Measuring 1.5 cm it's associated with some smaller dodecahedra in the matrix.
Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 - Silicates
4,7 x 4,0 x 3,5 cm

Amethyst Quartz (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Amethyst Quartz
Amethyst geodo filled by a group of a rounded calcite crystals. This mineral is from the "Amethyst World City", Ametista do Sul, Brazil.

SiO2 - Silicates
28,0 x 20,0 x 20,0 cm

Calcite Mineral, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Calcite
Aggregate of prismatic crystals of Calcite associated with Amethyst.
CaCO3 - Carbonates
8,0 x 7,5 x 4,0 cm

Pyrolusite (21th Century) by Leonardo MirandaMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Pyrolusite

Columnar aggregate of Pyrolusite. Original from Morro da Mina, one of the most important deposits of manganese ore in Brazil, in Conselheiro Lafaiete, estate of Minas Gerais, Brazil. MnO2 - Oxides (Manganese Oxide) - 11 x 10,5 x 9 cm

Talc Mineral, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Talc
Robust example of botryoidal talc with pearl luster. It’s one of the softest minerals we know with its toughness 1, it can be easily cut with a nail.
Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 - Silicates
22,5 x 16,8 x 9 cm

Rutile (21th Century) by Andrea FerreiraMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Rutile
Pointed crystals of golden Rutile in epitaxial growth on Hematite associated with colorless quartz crystal (20x12mm) with Rutile inclusions.

TiO2 - Oxides
8 x 4 x 2 cm

Cryptomelane, Andrea Ferreira, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Cryptomelane
Tree shaped group of Cryptomelane crystals.
K(Mn4+7Mn3+)O16 - Oxides
7,0 x 5,5 x 3,0 cm

Native Gold (21th Century) by Andrea FerreiraMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Native Gold

Rare group of cubic gold crystals. Au - Native Elements - 1,1 x 0,7 x 0,5 cm

Quartz Amethyst, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Quartz Amethyst
Translucent crystal of Quartz with Amethyst crystal-head and Hematite inclusions. Procedure from state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
SiO2 - Silicates
7,1 x 5,4 x 4,5

Vivianite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Vivianite
Beautiful translucent tabular monocrystal.
Fe3(PO4)2 . 8H2O - Phosphates
2,3 x 1,4 x 0,5 cm

Brazilianite Mineral, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Brazilianite
This mineral honors the Brazilian people and was first listed in Brazil, in 1945's year.
NaAl3(PO4)2(OH)4 - Phosphate
5,3 x 3,7 x 2,0 cm

Beryl var. Aquamarine (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Beryl var. Aquamarine

Clear aquamarine's crystal, in a "barrel" shape. It's the result of a partial corrosion of the crystal, coming from a "baggings" discovered in 1990, which contained over one hundred kilos of beautiful crystals like this one. Provenient from Lavra do Jaquetô mine, in Guaratinga, Medeiros Neto, estate of Bahia, Brazil. Be3Al2Si6O18 - Silicates - 5,5 x 2,8 x 2,3 cm

Native Silver, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Native Silver
Simple example of dendritic Native Silver, associated with Quartz.
Ag - Native Elements
2,5 x 1,5 x 1,0 cm

Aragonite, Andrea Ferreira, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Aragonite
Rounded aggregate of translucent red-brown aragonite crystals fully crystallized on all sides.
CaCO3 - Carbonates
7,0 x 6,5 x 5 cm

Cassiterite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Cassiterite
Lustrous twinned crystal of Cassiterite in the matrix of a Muscovite.
SnO2 - Tin Oxide
4,0 x 2,5 x 1,3 cm

Muscovite, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Muscovite
"Star" Muscovite. An crystallographic surprising form from the mineral world kingdom. It's the result of a set of twinned crystals.
KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 - Silicate
9,0 x 8,5 x 1,8 cm

Diamond (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Diamond

Octahedral diamond crystal with triangular surface patterns. The city of Diamantina was considered the largest diamond mining in the western world in the 18th century. C - Native Elements - 1,0 x 1,0 x 1,0 cm

Hematite, var: Iron Rose (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Hematite, var. Iron Rose

Intergrowth of Hematite tabular crystals in the form of a rosette. Coming from a known region as "Quadrilátero Ferrífero", internationally recognized for its high iron ore production. Fe2O3 - Oxides (Iron Oxide) - 7,5 x 5,0 x 2,0 cm

Tourmaline Elbaite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Tourmaline Elbaite
Beautiful crystalline arrangement green tourmaline associated with Lepidolite.
Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) - Silicates
2,6 x 2,0 x 2,5 cm

Apatite, Henry Yu, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Apatite
Intergrowth of dark-green perfect crystals of Apatite.
Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) - Silicates
2,6 x 2,0 x 2,5 cm

Malachite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Malachite
Aggregates of radial and stalactite Congo's crystals of Malachite.
Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 - Carbonate
4,5 x 2,4 x 1,6 cm

Okenite (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Okenite
Okenite spray over basaltic matrix and set of okenite crystals without matrix. Both from Poona, India.

Ca10Si18O46.18H2O - Silicate
9 x 5 x 2,8 / 5,5 x 2,5 x 1,5 cm

Calcanthite, Andrea Ferreira, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Calcanthite
Beautiful fibrous aggregates of "electric-blue" Calcantica on matrix.
CuSO4.5H2O - Sulfate
5,0 x 4,5 x 3,0 cm

Tourmaline Elbaite Indicolite (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Tourmaline Elbaite Indicolite

Aggregate of crystals with 15 cm long, extracted from Lavra da Golconda mine, in Governador Valadares, estate of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 1985. The Golconda pegmatitic's district has already produced more than five hundred kilograms of intense and blue's tourmaline. Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) - Silicates - 14,9 x 3,4 x 3,0 cm

Tricolor Tourmaline Elbaite (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Tricolor Tourmaline Elbaite
Tricolor Elbaite Crystal (Red-Green-Pink).

Na(Li,Al)3Al6B3.Si6O27(OH,F)4 - Silicates
5,7 x 1,3 x 1,1 cm

Tourmaline Elbaite (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Tourmaline Elbaite
Aggregates of red crystals with greenish edges, extracted from the famous Lavra da Pederneira, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Na(Li,Al)3Al6B3.Si6O27(OH,F)4 - Silicates
9,0 x 2,5 x 3,0 cm

Spodumene var. Kunzite (21th Century) by Andrea FerreiraMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Spodumene var. Kunzite
Kunzite crystal with corrosion parallelograms.

LiAlSi2O6 - Silicates - 10,0 x 2,5 x 2,0 cm

Anastase Mineral (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Anastase

Anatase crystal with its characteristic tetragonal bipyramid shape and elongated vertex, covered with golden rutile needles. Its name comes from the Greek "anatasis", which means "to stretch" or "to extend", in reference to the elongated shape of the crystals. Brazil has the largest and most beautiful crystals of this mineral species.

Barite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Barite
Monocrystal of golden Barite over an Barite matrix.
BaSO4 - Sulfate
3,5 x 1,0 x 0,7 cm

Gypsum, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Gypsum
"Desert Rose", extracted from the sands, that beautiful sample are from the Sahara Desert, in Algeria, North Africa.
CaSO4.2H2O - Sulfate
11,5 x 5,0 x 3 cm

Hemimorphite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Hemimorphite
Impressive concavity of Limonite, full of crystallized edges, translucent and highly brilliant crystals of Hemimorphite.
CaSO4.2H2O - Sulfate
11,5 x 5,0 x 3 cm

Hematite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Hematite
Aggregate of Hematite crystals of rare pseudocubic habit. Coming from the oldest iron ore mine in operation in Brazil, Casa de Pedra mine, Congonhas, Minas Gerais
Fe2O3
9,0 x 6,0 x 5,5 cm

Wolframite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Wolframite
Beautiful and striated prismatic crystal of Wolframite (3 x 2 x 0.5 cm) associated with quartz.
(Fe,Mn)WO4 - Tungstate
3 x 2 x 0,5 cm

Autunite, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Autunite
Micaceous aggregates of Autunite, radioactive mineral, on a smoky quartz.
Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2.11H2O - Phosphate
8,0 x 3,0 x 1,0 cm

Pyrrhotite (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Pyrrhotite

Hexagonal crystal of Pyrrhotite was extracted from the Morro Velho gold mine, in the city of Nova Lima, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This mine, one of the most important gold mines in the world, operated for 278 years (from 1725 until 2003) and produced more than 570 tons of gold. It was one of the deepest gold mines in the world, reaching 2700 meters deep.

Galena, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Galena
Large and intense metallic-luster crystals. Due to its high lead content, is quite heavy, being one of the densest minerals that exists.
PbS - Sulfates
17 x 15 x 8,5 cm

Meteorite from Bocaiuva (21th Century) by Leonardo MirandaMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Bocaiuva Meteorite

The Bocaiuva Meteorite, which weighs 64.3kg and measures 33x44x17cm, has an extremely high density compared to terrestrial rocks. The "Bocaiuva" was discovered in the 1960's in Brazil, and was classified as a siderite silicate meteorite, as it is composed of an iron and nickel matrix that involves some silicates. Fe, Ni - Silicate Siderite - 33 x 44 x 17 cm

Scheelite over Muscovite, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Scheelite over Muscovite
Beautiful intergrowth of two oranges and bipyramidal crystals of Scheelite, contrasting with a clear muscovite matrix.
CaWO4 - Tungstate
8 x 5,5 x 2,5 cm

Aragonite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Aragonite
Rounded aggregate of translucent red-brown crystals of Aragonite, fully crystallized on all sides.
CaCO3 - Carbonates
3,0 x 2,5 x 2,5 cm

Magnesite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Magnesite
Grouping of well crystallized rhombuses of Magnesite. In Brazil, it's used by refractory materials industry.
MgCO3 - Carbonates
5,0 x 3,5 x 2 cm

Chrysobryl (21th Century) by Andrea FerreiraMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Chrysobryl

Rare completed crystal, brownish green color. This mineral was reported for the first time in Brazil.

Smithsonite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Smithsonite
Botryoid aggregate of sky-blue Smithsonite.
ZnCO3 - Carbonate
5,3 x 2,3 x 2,0 cm

Chrysocolle (21th Century) by Leonardo MirandaMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Chrysocolle
Irregular blue- masses of Chrysocolla, associated with Malachite.

(Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5(OH)4.nH2O - Silicates
12 x 9,0 x 6,4 cm

Malachite (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Malachite
Azurite pseudomorphic malachite, velvety appearance.

Cu2+2(CO3)(OH)2 - Carbonates
13,0 x 9,0 x 6,5 cm

Calcite Mineral (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Calcite
Group of scalenohedral crystals (dog teeth) on matrix.

CaCO5 - Carbonetes
11,0 x 7,0 x 6,5 cm

Amethyst Quartz (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Amethyst Quartz
Bicolor crystals of Amethyst Smoky Quartz.

SiO2 - Silicates
8,0 x 7,5 x 14 cm

Rose Quartz (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Rose Quartz

Very rare group of crystallized Rose Quartz on a group of Smoky Quartz. SiO2 - Silicates - 8,0 x 7,5 x 14 cm

Fluorite, Marcílio Gazzinelli, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Fluorite
Cleavage octahedrons. An Fluorite groups the name of a property that has: fluorescence. It's the effect of displaying other cores under ultraviolet light.
CaF2 - Halides
2,5 x 2,5 x 2,5 cm

Calcite Mineral, Leonardo Miranda, 21th Century, From the collection of: MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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Calcite
Twinned scalenohedral crystal of Calcite on a matrix. Sample from Hunan, China.
CaCO3 - Carbonates
5,2 x 3,0 x 3,0 cm

Phenakite (21th Century) by Marcílio GazzinelliMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Phenakite

This aggregate of Fenaquita's well-formed crystals represents one of the best samples in the world. Phenakite is a very rare mineral and that occurs together with other gem's minerals.

Opal Mineral (21th Century) by Andrea FerreiraMM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

Opal

Rare brazilian specimen of precious opal in queluzito metmorphic rock. The mineral was collected in the 60's in one of the main manganese mines in Brazil. SiO2·nH2O - Silicates - 16,0 x 4,8 x 4,8 cm

Credits: Story

Realization: MM Gerdau - Museum of Mines and Metal
Sponsorship: Gerdau
Support: CBMM
Direction: Márcia Guimarães
Curatorship of Geosciences: Andrea Ferreira
Museology Coordination: Carlos Jotta
Communication Coordination: Paola Oliveira
Educational Coordination: Suely Monteiro
Curator of the Mineral Diversity Exhibition: Andrea Ferreira, Carlos Jotta, David Bruno, Guilherme Borges, Lucas D'Ambrósio, Márcia Guimarães, Mateus Nogueira, Paola Oliveira and Suely Monteiro. Research: Andrea Ferreira Translation: Lucas D'Ambrósio and Paola Oliveira.
Photographs: Andrea Ferreira, Henry Yu, Leonardo Miranda, Lucas D'Ambrosio e Marcílio Gazinelle.

Credits: All media

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal

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