57 GM TIFFANY STONE Slab, BERTRANDITE, OPALIZED FLUORITE Utah (R-BVD)
57 GM TIFFANY STONE Slab, BERTRANDITE, OPALIZED FLUORITE Utah (R-BVD)
Tiffany Stone is a rare and unusual "opalized" (agatized) mineraloid that formed in mineralized nodules called "beryllium nodules."
Tiffany Stone is composed of varying combinations of minerals such as bertrandite (beryllium silicate), beryl, calcite, chalcedony, cobalt, dolomite, fluorite, manganese oxide, rhodonite, quartz and zinc. The purple color that characterizes Tiffany Stone was created by fluorine gases, while the distinct black-colored veins were caused by manganese oxide; all of which were sealed within the sedimentary layers, becoming opalized over time.
Opalized fluorite is a mineraloid which is a combination of amorphous hydrated, fluorine-rich mineralized fluids and silica-rich sediments. Amorphous materials where naturally created by the rapidly cooling molten material, and the rapid cooling process slowed and suspended the material's molecules before they could pack into a tight crystalline structure. The opalized fluorite formed in Irregular veins and nodules which were originally clasts of carbonate rock, incorporated into the beryllium tuff during eruption.