#MinCup24 ROUND 1 MATCH 3: #Perovskite vs #Copper
Will you pick your futuristic cube or the ancient gleaming metal? The choice is yours!
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r1m03
RESULTS: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/results/r1m03
mincup24
#MinCup24 MATCH 9: #Rhodochrosite versus #Turquoise
Are you wearing rose-colored glasses, or are yours sky blue? In today’s celebration of color, only you can choose.
#MinCup24 ROUND 1 MATCH 7: #Stibnite vs #Atacamite
Are you rooting for kohl, responsible for dramatic eyes for eons ? Or do you favour the newcomer found everywhere from the Statue of Liberty to bloodworm jaws?
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r1m07
RESULTS: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/results/r1m07
#MinCup24 R4M2: #Dioptase versus #Kyanite
Dioptase, the desert emerald, forms in alteration zones of deserts. It is so sparkly that its name alludes to the visibility of internal cleavage planes. Blue blades of Kyanite are a classic mineral found in rock shops, introductory geology classrooms, eroded mountains, and geological research laboratories.
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r4m2
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R3M4: #Kyanite versus #Topaz
Blue blades of Kyanite are a classic mineral found in rock shops, introductory geology classrooms, eroded mountains, and geological research laboratories. Topaz is a jeweler’s dream mineral, blending toughness with beauty, and has exceptional clarity, brilliance, and versatility.
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r3m4
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R3M3: #Rhodochrosite versus #Calcite
Although both are carbonates, rhodochrosite is the pink contender, with specimens reminiscent of raspberry jello or bacon rocks. Calcite can masquerade as fried chicken, cave bacon, pork stone, and fried egg stalagmites, and has over a thousand crystal forms.
Choose!
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r3m3
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R4M1: #Perovskite versus #Rhodochrosite
Perovskite has a flair for high-profile environments, found in the rain in brown dwarf stars, in volcanic fumaroles, and in kimberlite pipes rocketing from mantle to crust. Rhodochrosite’s crystals can be the palest blush to the darkest blood red, and can form rhombohedral and scalenohedral crystals, rosettes, blades, and massive and botryoidal crystals
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r4m1
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R5M1: #Rhodochrosite versus #Kyanite
Rhodochrosite, also known as Rosa del Inca and Raspberry Spar is a distinctive pink-to-red carbonate that is a mix of utility and charm. Kyanite, while famous for being blue, can be a wide variety of colours, often zoned and sometimes pleochroic.
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r5m1
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R2M4: #Rhodochrosite versus #Quartz
Rhodochrosite began Mineral Cup 24 to the rallying cries of “Meat rock, meat rock.” Will voters once again sink their teeth into this appetizing rose-colored delight? Or will quartz’s resistance, piezoelectricity, and myriad of varieties, colours, and forms, weather this battle to continue to the next round?
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r2m5
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R2M7: #Titanite versus #Calcite
This matchup is all about timing.
Titanite's main claim to fame is as an indicator mineral for everything from formation temperature, pressure and chronology. Calcite’s U-Pb dating can help constrain the timing of fault slip, and the minimum age of ancient ocean crusts and volcanic rocks
Time to choose a mineral!
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r2m7
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R2M8: #Charoite versus #Topaz
Chaorite is an intensely purple mineral with a fibrous, swirly pattern that’s been compared to Van Gogh’s Starry Night. It forms from contact metamorphism in Siberia.
Topaz is a hard, many-hued gemstone that crystallizes along the fractures in igneous rock, and is mined all over the world. It is pleochroic; i.e. it can appear different colors from different angles.
Time to choose your mineral!
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r2m8
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R2M6: #Omphacite versus #Kyanite
Omphacite tells the tale of high-pressure subduction and the tectonic forces that brought it back. Kyanite whispers of the great mountain ranges under which it formed, and are now eroded away. Which mineral’s story moves you?
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r2m6
⚒️🧪 geology
As of this round of the #mincup24 vote, I chose #Dioptase over #Wavellite since I own more specimens (obviously, I bought more because I loved it more, for the emerald color and its variety of localities). 
Pic1. Mindouli, R. Congo
Pic2. Tsumeb, Namibia
Pic3. Christmas Mine, AZ, USA
Pic4. Kaokoveld, Namibia
#MinCup24 R1M12: #Kyanite versus #Ringwoodite
It’s time to dig deep in the mantle for blue minerals: Kyanite and Ringwoodite.
Kyanite is beloved for its beauty, unique characteristics, and distinct formation story. Ringwoodite is a blue mineral formed in the high pressure and temperature.
#MinCup24 R1 M14: #Cacoxenite versus #Charoite
"Bad guest" Cacoxenite returns as a fragile fluffball of translucent orange.
Newbie Charoite is such a striking purple, people once thought it was dyed.
They're both beautiful with unusual shapes, but only one moves on to Round 2!
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r1m14
⚒️🧪 geology
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R1 M15: #Calcite versus #Celestine
A component of limestone and seashells, calcite shows off its rhombohedral shape as stunning Iceland spar. Celestine is often sky-blue although it can also be reminiscent of sunsets, overcast skies, and even smoggy days.
VOTE: https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r1m15
⚒️🧪 geology
#MinCup24 R1 M16: #Topaz versus #Spodumene
In a battle of the biggest stones, these minerals are ready to rumble.
Topaz forms some of the largest gemstone crystals in the world, famous specimens weighing more than a teenager. The largest crystal of Spodumene ever found is the size of a Right Whale.
Which one will you choose?
Rhodochrosite first competed in Mineral Cup in 2021, where it promptly lost (very badly!) to to bright green carbonate Malachite during its very first match. Defeated, it sat out 2022, before getting a second chance to start over in 2023, where it had a solid run before being defeated by Perovskite in the Quarterfinals. This year, it took vengeance during a Semifinals rematch against Perovskite, then handily defeated Kyanite to take the 2024 Championship. 🧵 continued in replies
#MinCup24
After a hard-fought, record-breaking battle, the winner of Mineral Cup 2024 is Rhodochrosite! The light-hearted campaign brought home the bacon, and it couldn’t have been more tasty. Kudos to #TeamKyanite; well done!
#MinCup24 Results and Update
This is worth waiting for! Enjoy your champion in all its beauty. Rhodochrosite, Mineral Cup 24 Champion.
⚒️🧪🖖🏼 geology #MinCup24