They include diopside,
augite, jadeite, omphacite, spodumene, wollastonite, and rhodonite.
Diopside
Diopside by Maggie via Flickr.com
Diopside is
a clinopyroxene which forms short prismatic crystals, but can also be
massive, granular, lamellar or columnar in habit. It can be white,
violet, green, grey, reddish brown, yellowish brown or
greenish black. Most often it forms in metamorphic rocks such as
skarns,
gneisses,
schists,
hornfelses
and marbles.
But it is also found
in some mafic igneous rocks such as kimberlites and peridotites.
Augite
Augite by Kotomi_ via Flickr.com
Augite is a dark coloured mineral, which can be massive,
granular or compact; or form short prismatic crystals which are often
twinned. It is black, brown or dark green in colour. It is always found
in gabbros and basalts. It can also be found in mafic, ultramafic and
intermediate igneous rocks such as pyroxenites, andesites and others.
Jadeite
Jadeite by PSC1121-GO via Flickr.com
Jadeite is a
green mineral often used in jewelry. But it can actually also be
violet, mauve, yellow, brown, grey and white. It is often
massive, but can also be fibrous and very rarely it forms platy or
small prismatic crystals. It is found in metamorphic
rocks such as
eclogites and high pressure blueschists; some schists and some
ultramafic igneous
rocks.
Omphacite
By Graeme Churchard via Flickr.com
Omphacite is
a pyroxene similar to jadeite and augite in composition. It can be
granular
(anhedral grains), or it can form short prismatic crystals. It is green
or dark grey in colour. It is often found in high pressure rocks such
as eclogite. It can also be found in granulates, metagreywacke and
blueschist.
Spodumene
Spodumene by Jarno via Flickr.com
Spodumene
either occurs as massive aggregates, or forms huge crystals. It is
often found in a rock that is known for large minerals - pegmatite.
The crystals are
prismatic and can often be twinned or flattened. The colour varies
widely and can be pink, violet, green, yellowish, grey, white or
colourless. It can also be fluorecsent under UV light. It is not a very
stable mineral and can often be partly altered to clay or mica
minerals.
Wollastonite
Wollastonite by Maggie
via Flickr.com
Wollastonite is a grey
or white mineral which can be
greenish or reddish if coloured by impurities. It can be massive,
granular, bladed, compact, fibrous, or form tabular, and often twinned,
crystals. It
can be found in sedimentary
rocks such as siliceous limestones and skarns, regional
metamorphic
rocks such as schists, phyllites and slates; and some alkaline igneous
rocks.
Rhodonite
Rhodonite by Géry Parent via Flickr.com
Rhodonite is
a beautiful pink manganese pyroxene mineral which is most often coarse,
fine-grained or cleavable compact masses, which contain black veins of
manganese minerals. It can also have granular habit, and very rarely
tabular crystals. It forms in metamorphic rocks that are rich in
manganese. such as marbles,
skarns and others that originally formed from limestones.
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