Cochise College          Photos of Minerals

                          Geology Home Page                

                          Roger Weller, geology instructor

                          [email protected]
                                  copyright 2007-R.Weller
 

Mineral Information on:
beryl

Chemical Group:    silicate

Chemical Formula:    Be₃Al₂(SiO₃)₆

Color:   emerald green, pale green, light blue, yellow, white, pink          Streak: white
 

Luster:  vitreous or resinous      Transparency: transparent to subtranslucent

Hardness:  7.5 to 8               Specific Gravity:    2.63 to 2.80                

Fracture:  conchoidal to uneven

Cleavage:  imperfect and indistinct

Crystal Forms: Hexagonal system
     Crystals are usually 6-sided prisms capped with flat surfaces.

Mineral Associations:  found in pegmatites

Identifying Characteristics:  crystal shape and a pale-green color

Uses:  as a gemstone; also as a source of the element beryllium

Occurrences:  Colombia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Russia, Madagascar, SW Africa;
     in the U.S. in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, north Carolina, California

Toxicity:      when-swallowed-             when inhaled-

Additional Information:
If gemstone quality: green is emerald, bluish green is aquamarine,
     pink is morganite, yellow is golden beryl or heliodor.