Many people recognize garnet as a gemstone, but did you know that only a portion of garnet is qualified for use as such? Most garnet is mined for industrial applications because of its abrasive nature. It is commonly used in sandpaper, sandblasting and water filtration.
石榴石不仅仅是一种矿物. The term garnet is used to describe a group of silicate minerals with a hardness of around seven on the Mohs scale. 其中最常见的六个包括:
- Almandine, which is red or brown in color
- Pyrope, which is red to purple in color
- Spessartite, which is orange to red to brown in color
- Andradite, which is green, yellow or black in color
- Grossular, which is green, yellow, red, pink or clear in color
- 玉云石，是绿色的
其他类型的石榴石包括:
- Calderite
- Majorite
- Goldmanite
- 锆榴石
- Knorringite
- Katoite
- Morimotoite
- Schorlomite
- Hibschite
- Hydrogrossular
Each of these garnet types has a different chemical composition, which determines its color. 例如, garnets composed of calcium are greenish in color, while the garnets composed of aluminum, iron or manganese are reddish in color.
Here are some other facts about garnet that may surprise you.
1. 有些品种是变色的
Certain varieties of garnet change color when viewed under different light. The garnet will appear one color when viewed under natural light but will appear another color when viewed under incandescent light.
2. 直到20世纪末th century, garnet was thought to exist in every color but blue
When most people think of garnet, a red gemstone immediately comes to mind. The name is derived from “gernet,” a 14th 世纪词汇，意思是深红色. 它也来自拉丁语granatus,” which means grain seed (think of the color of a pomegranate seed).
While red is the most common, garnet can be found in many colors. It can be colorless, white, gray, brown or black. It can also be yellow, green, pink, purplish red, orange-red and violet red.
直到20世纪末th century, garnet was said to exist in every color but blue. 然而, 马达加斯加的一项发现 in the 1990s revealed garnets that changed from greenish blue to blue-green in daylight to purple in incandescent light.
3. 它是一月的诞生石
Birthstones are gems associated with a certain month of the year. 他们是 据说起源于 from the 12 stones worn of the breastplate of Aaron, according to Jewish historian Josephus in the first century. Josephus believed these stones represented the 12 tribes of Israel, but others have connected these stones to the 12 months of the year or 12 signs of the zodiac.
石榴石 has been the birthstone for those born in January since 1912 when the National Association of Jewelers established the first official birthstone list. Like many birthstones, garnet is thought to have healing and protective properties. 在早期的几个世纪, 战士们用它来保护自己, and others used it to protect against the plague. 石榴石甚至被放置在伤口上 by ancient healers who praised its healing powers. Today, garnet represents healing, love, prosperity and protection.
In addition to being the birthstone for those born in the first month of the year, garnet is also Connecticut’s state mineral, the gemstone of New York and represents a second anniversary.
4. It was a popular gemstone in ancient times
Jewelry inlaid with garnets was buried with many Egyptians so they could have it in the afterlife. The gemstone was used for trading purposes in Rome, and in signet rings to create wax seals for securing important documents. 石榴石 was also a popular choice for jewelry in the Victorian era, and it has become a staple in the jewelry industry today.
更多关于石榴石的信息
Located all around the world in metamorphic, 火成岩和沉积岩, most garnet forms in areas of high heat or pressure, which alter the composition of the mineral’s structure to one that can sustain the environment. 石榴石s begin as tiny grains that grow over time to include the surrounding rock; therefore, 石榴石常被发现为 副矿物 in certain types of igneous rock (think about the dark red crystals you may see in a granite countertop).
Methods of mining garnet from the earth vary. Open pit mining is common for hard rock locations, 手工采矿也是如此, 取决于地雷的位置. 石榴石 extracted from alluvial deposits is done so using backhoes and draglines.
矿石被开采出来之后, liberation of the garnet fraction begins with size reduction through use of machines like 颚破碎机, 影响破碎机, 圆锥破碎机, rod and ball mills, depending on the deposit or the market. Liberated garnet is often separated from the gangue minerals through gravity concentration methods, 如 Hydrosizers™ 或螺旋，或由泡沫浮选. The concentrate is then dried and sorted. The particles are screened into various market sizes and packaged for distribution.
