The Most Dangerous Stones and Minerals

How beautiful all the minerals created by the Earth are. They delight with their hues, brightness and saturation. Gems are created by nature itself and have concentrated in themselves all its beauty, strength, power, grace. Stones are endowed with unique abilities to heal ailments, restore strength, and improve well-being. This is an essential attribute of rituals and conspiracies. But there are representatives of the World of stones, with whom it is better not to deal. They are fraught with mortal danger for their owners, as well as those around them. The most dangerous stones and minerals should be discussed in more detail.

Oddly enough, but all poisonous and radioactive minerals are attractive in appearance, differ in a variety of shades and unusual beauty. They beckon to themselves with the brightness and saturation of the color gamut, attract the eyes of lovers of beauty. But you should treat them with extreme caution, since their presence in the immediate vicinity can lead to negative consequences, up to and including death. You need to know this information, but you shouldn’t worry too much. Usually they are present in those developments and mines, where an ordinary person is “ordered”. As for the world’s resorts, before officially declaring them as recreation areas, a thorough study of the local flora and fauna is carried out for the presence of dangerous objects. If such items are found, the service personnel must warn all holidaymakers about this.

Galena

In appearance, it can be classified as a high-tech style. It is very unusual and is quite rare in nature. Galena is the main ore for lead mining. The structure of this mineral resembles small shiny silver cubes with unique symmetry and well-defined shapes. At first glance, it seems that this is not the creation of the Earth, but the creation of an artificial stone in the laboratory.

The presence of a steel color with a delicate bluish tint reminds of the endless universe. But, despite its beauty, this gem is quite dangerous for humans. It is even worth spending some time in his company, as over time, incurable diseases appear. Basically, those who belong to the category of amateur naturalists suffer from this mineral. These are, as a rule, amateurs who are carried away by external beauty, without thinking about the properties and the mortal danger associated with it.

The danger of this natural creature lies in the fact that it is so fascinating that there is a desire to constantly deal with it, study, research, experiment, in general, not let go of it. For example, if you hit it with a hard object, then it will crumble into many small particles, like two drops of water similar to the original specimen. Such “miracles” attract for a long time, make him hold in his hands, which subsequently negatively affects human health.

Knowledgeable people prefer to stay away from such a beautiful gem or to take security measures. So, miners who regularly come into contact with galena , after a short time, reveal serious occupational diseases, which are the result of poisonous dust entering the respiratory tract.

Thorburnite

The people call it the “hell stone”. And this is no accident, since it resembles uranium in its properties. It contains phosphorus, copper , water and uranium. It looks beautiful: many small bright green prisms are concentrated on its surface. He beckons with his attractiveness and makes you stay near him for a long time. But there is a serious danger in torberite, and it lies in the fact that this gem can emit radon gas, which is considered deadly to humans. It causes lung cancer.

Due to the presence of a large amount of uranium component in the stone, it is possible to determine the presence of uranium deposits in a particular area. But ordinary people should not worry too much, since you simply cannot meet him on the street. But it can be dangerous through such a popular finishing material in the construction industry as granite. Before purchasing natural granite slabs for your construction, you need to make sure that there are no saturated green inclusions in it. They can be torburnite.

The stone owes its name to the famous Swedish chemist and mineralogist Thorburn Bergman. The main deposits of this mineral are located in Great Britain, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, France, South Africa, USA.

Coloradoite

It was discovered relatively recently in the United States, in the state of Colorado, inside igneous rocks. And literally immediately the danger was identified in him. It contains mercury and tellurium, which is considered a poisonous element. Therefore, the danger of mercury has, in fact, been increased several times. This stone is so dangerous that you can die from touching it. Its excessive toxicity is off scale. If the sun is shining outside and the temperature is high enough, then it is forbidden to even approach this gem.

As usual, anything dangerous is very attractive. Coloradoite resembles by its appearance mercury balls, which have a metallic hue, bright and shining. It is worth noting that the second component of the stone, tellurium, contains gold in its composition , which became known during the gold rush in Australia.

Chalcanite

So beautiful that upon meeting him, it is impossible not to stop. He stands out from many of his fellows for the beauty of the shade and the similarity with the flower. The presence of a juicy ultramarine blue shade does not leave anyone indifferent. And its name “Chalcanthit” translated from ancient Greek means “flower”.

Why is this mineral dangerous? With its components. It contains sulfur , water and copper. This mixture is highly toxic. The danger lies in the fact that copper , which is considered useful for the human body in small doses, simply dissolves in water and can be absorbed into any biological body. Excessive doses of copper are very toxic, they can disrupt the work of internal organs in a short time, which will invariably lead to the occurrence of chronic diseases, and perhaps even death. If it so happened that you held this mineral in your palms, then you should immediately wash your hands with soap and water under running water. If you bring the gem to your lips, then you cannot avoid poisoning.

How did the dangerous properties of this stone come to light? Young mineralogists, to determine the presence of salt in chalcanite, tasted it. After that, the typical symptoms of poisoning appeared. So the danger of this mineral was identified. It was noticed that signs of ecological disaster appeared in the places where this stone was mined. If deposits were found in water bodies, then fish and plants died there, as well as all living microorganisms disappeared.

Asbestos

A well-known natural stone, which has been successfully used in construction, automotive, rocketry. But in essence, it is a rather dangerous poisonous mineral that, under certain circumstances, can have a negative impact on human health.

It should be noted that it has no toxicity. But microscopic particles of asbestos crystals are easily carried by air masses and can enter the human lungs. After being hit, they harden and cause irreparable harm to the thin walls of the lungs, forming scars on them. This can cause chronic illnesses with negative consequences.

The mineral is quite attractive in appearance. Its deposits can be found in Russia, Italy, Brazil, Canada, France, South Africa. But the extraction of this dangerous stone is carried out taking into account all safety rules.

Stibnite

In appearance, it resembles arrows collected in one bundle, sticking out in different directions. It has a silvery tint and is found in most antimony deposits. In ancient times, when large crystalline formations of stibnite were found, it was used to make excellent dishes. But over time, it turned out that such an element of household utensils can kill.

Currently, collectors use a separate case with a well-closing lid to contain the stibnite crystals. Large clusters of this gem have been found in Japan. There were found samples of arrows 30 centimeters long.

Hutchinsonite

Beautiful to look at, but fraught with incredible danger. This mineral contains lead, thallium and arsenic. If this composition enters the body of a person or any other living creature, an instant death is possible. Despite its beauty, gutchinsonite is strictly forbidden to touch with your hands! And the miners who mine this gem are well aware of this.

The main deposits of this gem are located in European countries. It owes its name to the famous British mineralogist John Hutchinson. It is worth noting that thallium, which is part of it, is more dangerous than lead. Thallium is considered a heavy and very toxic substance that, even in small quantities, can cause hair loss, skin disease, and even death.

Arsenopyrite

Among experts it is customary to call it “the gold of fools”. This stone is very similar in appearance to gold , but if you hold it in your palms a little, you can die. If you translate the name “Arsenicum” from Latin, you get “arsenic”. Arsenopyrites are endowed with another name – “arsenic pyrite”.

The mineral is very similar to a nugget of gold ; it is found quite often in nature. It can be seen in the composition of fluorite and quartz rocks . Until recently, prospectors perished from the ingress of arsenopyrite into the body. But the most dangerous is the heated mineral. Its vapors are so toxic that if they enter the lungs, they can lead to death. Arsenic is easy to identify. You need to hit the stone with a hard object and many sparks will sprinkle, exuding a pungent garlic smell.

Orpiment

Perhaps there is a more dangerous option than arsenic. This is the so-called “arsenic stone”, which received its official name “oripigment”. This mineral contains sulfur , which is found nearby geothermal springs. Like most poisonous stones, this gem looks beautiful and makes you admire it for a long time, even hold it in your hands. But this is strictly forbidden, since the incredibly carcinogenic and neurotoxic arsenic can play a cruel joke with you.

This mineral is closely related to the history of Ancient China. They used this gem for the same purpose as cinnabar . The consequences were dire. The oripigment was part of the ocher paints used by the masters of the brush, and therefore died early. But this is not the only use of “arsenic stone”. It was crushed to a powdery state and introduced into a certain composition, with which the arrowheads were lubricated. In this way, the enemies of the Celestial Empire were sent to the forefathers. But those people who processed arrows with this deadly composition did not avoid death either.

Cinnabar

It is a mercury sulfide and belongs to the category of the most toxic minerals involved in the processing. The people call this mineral “dragon’s blood”. Cinnabar ore  is the basis for the extraction of mercury. Its formations were found in the immediate vicinity of volcanoes and sulfur deposits, and the presence of bright red crystals indicates the presence of mortal danger.

Mercury is released when the cinnabar is heated to a certain temperature, and if at this time a person is in the immediate vicinity of this process, then he is provided with convulsions, loss of sensitivity and after death. In the 17th century, if a person was sent to the extraction of minerals in Spanish mines, then this was considered a death sentence. From there, as a rule, no one returned alive.

Despite all the warnings, in the Middle Kingdom  , decorative dishes for eating were made from cinnabar . Its large crystalline formations have been used to create bizarre crafts that have sometimes cost the lives of skilled craftsmen. There were also such would-be healers who attributed cinnabar powder to the sick to cure many diseases.

Uranite

The very name of the mineral suggests that in its composition it contains uranium (88%), actinium, radium, polonium and other elements that are obtained in the process of radioactive decay. Crystals are rhombic dodecahedron, octahedral, cubic formations of black, greenish-black or violet hue with a waxy, greasy or matte sheen.

In general, uraninite is the basis of uranium ores and is too radioactive. He is very dangerous to human health and it is better not to deal with him.