What is epidote rock?
Epidote is an abundant rock-forming mineral, but one of secondary origin. It is also a product of hydrothermal alteration of various minerals (feldspars, micas, pyroxenes, amphiboles, garnets, and others) composing igneous rocks. A rock composed of quartz and epidote is known as epidosite.
What is epidote found in?
Epidote occurs in several different environments. It is found in hornfels and skarns in contact metamorphic rocks, and in metamorphosed limestone and in schists in regional metamorphic rock. It is also found in igneous rock in basalt and diabase, and is occasionally found in granite pegmatites.
What are epidote crystals used for?
Epidote is a hearth chakra stone. This stone can be used to open, activate, cleanse, and balance the heart chakra.
What is green epidote?
Epidote is a silicate mineral that is often recognized by its pistachio green color. It was once known as pistacite because of its color, but the accepted mineralogical name is epidote, which comes from the Greek for “addition”, due to its numerous crystal faces.
What is the hardness of epidote?
7
With a hardness of 7, Epidote sometimes stands out in weathered matrix which is an advantage when looking for good crystals. The name “Epidote” derives from the Greek “Epidosis” = “increase” in allusion to the crystal characteristic of one longer side at the base of the prism.
How can you tell if epidote is real?
Identifying Epidote Epidote is strongly pleochroic, typically exhibiting varying greens, browns and yellows when viewed from different angles. Epidote has a high refractive index, similar to pyrope garnet. Epidote crystal formation is monoclinic and typically occurs in prismatic crystals; crystal twinning is common.
Is epidote mined?
The epidote from this locality is widely known and specimens of it are found in museums and private collections throughout the world (Leavens and Thomssen, 1977). The mine is closed to private collection and as of 2004 is being mined by Doug Toland.
Is epidote a gemstone?
Although rarely of gem-quality and especially rare as a faceted gemstone, epidote is a commonly occurring mineral. Epidote is a complex form of calcium aluminum iron silicate in which both calcium and aluminum ions are replaced by other metals such as manganese, ferric iron or yttrium and cerium metals.
Why is biotite important?
Biotite is used to determine the age of rock through the process of argon-argon dating or potassium-argon dating. Biotite can be used to determine the minimum age of rock and profile its temperature history. Sheet mica is important in the electronics industry as an electrical and thermal insulator.