Mineral Monday:
Rutgers University Faculty and Students Present at the MSA Inaugural Meeting
By Shaunna Morrison

The MSA Inaugural Meeting took place on Feb. 17-19, 2026, in Tucson AZ.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #Rutgers #CheMin #zircon #Herkimerdiamonds #GaleCrater #Moon

Mineral Monday!
Formation of pseudotachylytes by Mattia Pistone
A rock undergoing fracturing (dilatant cracking) and friction melting partially melts at lower temperature than frictional melting alone.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #pseudotachylyte #pseudotachylite #partialmelting

Mineral Monday: Babingtonite in North Carolina

Babingtonite (Ca2Fe2+Fe3+Si5O14(OH) ), an inosilicate, is present as mm-scale crystals lining a fracture from the Caldwell Quarry in Lenoir, NC.
By Chris Tacker, NC State Museum
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineral #babingtonite #northcarolina

Mineral Monday!
Fibrous mackinawite (FeS) found in samples of asteroid Bennu
By Maizey Benner
This mineral provides a key ingredient for the development of bio-essential molecules on Bennu’s parent body.
See: doi.org/10.1016/j.gc... for more.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mackinawite #Bennu

Mineral Monday: Mobile- and Stagnant-lid Tectonics on the Hadean Earth
Continents and recycled crust via subduction may have formed earlier than previously thought.
(Valley JW, et al 2026: doi.org/10.1038/s415....
By John Valley
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineral #zircon #Hadean #JackHills

Mineral Monday:
The Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum of Tucson Arizona
The Alfie Norville Museum (gemandmineralmuseum.arizona.edu), is housed in the Pima County Courthouse in Tucson AZ.
By Andrea Koziol.

#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #calcite #amethyst #geode #mineralmuseum

Mineral Monday:
Why do all Olympic curling stones come from one small island off Scotland’s coast?
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/s...
Maybe even, fine grained texture, & rare minerals high in sodium and iron — such as arfvedsonite, aegirine and aenigmatite.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #Olympics

Mineral Monday: Spessartine Garnets
By Chris Tacker, NC State Museum
Bald Knob is a type locality for several manganese end-member minerals. Hypothesis: a metamorphosed deposit of manganese nodules.

#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineral #garnet #Spessartine #Spessartite #Manganese

Mineral Monday: Emeralds in the USA

The Turner Mine, aka the Old Plantation Mine, was briefly operated by Tiffany's for raw emeralds. The mine was in a weathered pegmatite.
By Chris Tacker, NC State Museum

#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineral #emerald #emeraldmine #NorthCarolina

Mineral Monday!
Is it glaucophane, chloritoid, or blue-green amphibole in Dutchess Co. NY? See our other social media feeds for more. By Donna Whitney et al.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #thinsection
#glaucophane #chloritoid #amphibole #DutchessCounty

Mineral Monday: the MSA You Tube channel
MSA has a You tube channel:
www.youtube.com/channel/UC43D1PLrmBkChtrsNi2y7YQ
Featured in this post are images from Jeff Scovil’s video on photographing minerals: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EgvXuBibuA&t=711s
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineral #Youtube

Mineral Monday!
Presented here is a selection from Steinbilder (“Rock Pictures”), a series of digitally-worked abstract artworks by Roger Mitchell, using petrological images as a starting point.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #thinsection #art #abstractart

Mineral Monday!
New Museum Exhibit: Unearthed: Raw Beauty
By Aaron Celestian
"UnEarthed: Raw Beauty” will open at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
More info: nhm.org/unearthed-rare-mineral-exhibition
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #Museum #NaturalHistoryMuseum #rareminerals

Mineral Monday!
It’s all Silica
By Bernardo Cesare

Quartzine is a variety of chalcedony: called "length-slow chalcedony" and usually intergrown with the more common type of fibrous "length-fast" chalcedony.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineralogy #Quartzine #Chalcedony #quartz

Mineral Monday: Roses of Scapolite

By Sophia Ortner, UC Santa Barbara

The scapolite rosettes appear to have formed by sulfide breakdown in the presence of an oxidizing fluid.

#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #Scapolite #Silvialite #Meionite #Pentlandite #DepartmentsinAction

Mineral Monday: ‘Rocks and Minerals Down the Microscope’ at U Maine Farmington
By Larry Tuttle

The ‘Rocks and Minerals Down the Microscope’ geoart exhibition will be on display until November 19, 2025.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #Geoart #EarthScienceWeek #minerals #DepartmentsInAction

Mineral Monday: Thaumasite Distress in Concrete
Thaumasite is a rare but highly destructive mineral phase that can form in concrete under specific conditions, leading to severe deterioration.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #concrete #thaumasite

Mineral Monday: Battle between the Bands

The presence of low-Al komatiite-like rocks in the early oceanic crust were the reason for both the formation of BIFs and their abundance in the Archaean/early Proterozoic era.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #BIF #bandedironformations

Mineral Monday: Embracing the future of mining careers starting with Generation Z

By Harriet Naakai Tetteh & Zohreh Kazemi Motlagh

ResearchGate Link: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #CareersinMining

Mineral Monday: Diatoms Diminish Dolomite
By Huifang Xu
Laboratory syntheses results demonstrate that the dissolved silica can catalyze dolomite precipitation. More diatoms = Less dolomite.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #dolomite #diatoms #sedimentology #chemicalweathering

Mineral Monday: GIA Examines the World’s Second Largest Diamond

Scientists at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) had the opportunity to examine a rough diamond weighing 2,488.32 carats—nearly 1.10 pounds (0.498 kilograms)
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineralogy
#diamond #Motswedi

Mineral Monday is back!
What is the Mineral Cup?
See www.mineralcup.org.
Vote for your favorite mineral each day in September.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineralogy #MineralCup @mineral_cup #MinCup25

Mineral Monday: Oxygen fugacity buffer calculator by Michael Anenburg
Michael Anenburg has developed a graphical oxygen fugacity buffer calculator, available at
fo2.rses.anu.edu.au/fo2app/

#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineralogy #oxygenfugacity

Mineral Monday: Mineralogy for Kids on the MSA website
Here is a resource for the younger members of your family: Mineralogy4Kids, available on the msaweb.org website at: min4kids.org.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineralogy #mineralogyforkids #mineralogy4kids #mineralproperties

Mineral Monday! Mineral Monday: Stibnite (Sb₂S₃): From Ancient Mineral to Modern Photovoltaic Material
By Aaron Celestian
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineralogy #materialscience #photovoltaics #semiconductors #crystallography #stibnite #renewableenergy #thinfilmsolar

Micrometeorites are HOT!
by Gottlob
Micrometeorites (=MM) originate from asteroids, comets or interstellar sources. They allow us to study cosmic material, offer us insights into their formation. See Instagram post for more.
#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineralogy #micrometeorites

Mineral Monday:
Important Rare Earth Element Minerals: Synchysite-(Ce): CaCe(CO3)2F and Bastnäsite-(Ce): Ce(CO3)F
See instagram or Linked in post for details.
#MineralMonday #MSACommunications #mineral #REE #Synchysite-(Ce) #mineralogy #Bastnäsite-(Ce)

Mineral Monday!
Selenites and Selenites. no room here for the full post - see Instragram post.
www.instagram.com/p/DKHf8nitszX/?img_index=1

#MSACommunications #MineralMonday #mineral #mineralogy #selenite #selenites