NHM Minerals

Bennu had some of the vital components needed for life to develop! 😮 Asteroids like Bennu may have helped deliver the water and chemical building blocks that ultimately led to the evolution of life on Earth. 🌱 Find out more about this discovery 👇 nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/…

Do you know how much gold there is in the entire world? Or where it comes from? 🤔 If this precious metal is on your Christmas list, find out just how far it’s travelled to get there in this week’s #SurprisingScience 👑

It’s #Mars! There are more than 15,000 of these mysterious structures, which new research has revealed were carved out of Mars’ surface by water billions of years ago. Find out what they reveal about the red planet 👇 nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/…

For my first Mineral Monday of 2025 check out this aragonite that looks like coral!! Minerals can be so cool!!#MineralMonday #GeoscienceTwitter

Merry Christmas, nerds. @periodicvideos ft. @NHM_London & @NHM_Minerals youtu.be/RER-qNWNnXQ?si…

Are you dreaming of a White Christmas? ❄️William Bentley took 5,381 photos of snow crystals. he wrote 'Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated' in a 1925 report. See the digitised collection online: nhm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/full…

Our mineral data is more accessible than ever before thanks to a new API released for the World Minerals Statistics Database. An exciting development for data-driven innovation utilising the data spanning several decades, countries & over 70 commodities. bgs.ac.uk/news/bgs-makes…

Gender in mineral names - 54% of minerals are named for people but only 6.1% of those are named for women. Mike Rumsey @NHM_Minerals and colleagues look in depth doi.org/10.2138/am-202… record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-s… 👇🏾 Marialite, named after Maria vom Rath, 1866

There are many #minerals that have vibrant colours thanks to the copper in their chemical formula. A few examples are below: red cuprite (variety chalcotrichite), blue azurite and green malachite. Minerals that are coloured by their chemical composition are idiochromatic

My attempt at a spooOOooky Guess the Gem this week!! What mineral group do you think these ghostly and reddish gems are? Hint: A crystal of this mineral group may have a variety of colours. #GuessTheGem #Halloween #GeoscienceTwitter

And for our ultramarine mineral we have “Azure stone, or Lapis Lazuli,” an intensely blue stone coloured by minerals within such as lazurite. For centuries lapis lazuli was used to create the finest and most expensive pigment - ultramarine! 💎

What do you know about Rhenium? It's an extremely rare element, is difficult to melt and is used in jet turbine blades - but watch the fascinating @periodicvideos featuring @NHM_Minerals Mike Rumsey for the full story 👉 youtu.be/YOmStzA2azw

Have you seen this dazzling stone before? Find it in our Minerals gallery, alongside sparkling gems and raw minerals. ✨

Did you know the Museum houses a blue topaz as heavy as two bags of sugar? 💎 Let’s take a closer look at the Ostro stone, the largest blue topaz gemstone of its kind. 🧵

Yesterday (6th October) was #InternationalGeodiversityDay. Geodiversity is the variety of geological elements (minerals, fossils, landforms, etc.) in nature As of September 2024, there are 6079 valid mineral species: cnmnc.units.it #MineralMonday

Guess the Gem time!! What mineral or group do you think this gem is? Hint: it frequently occurs as columnar crystals which is reflected in the origin of the group name. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceTwitter

Come join us THIS FRIDAY 6pm for an exploration of Scottish Minerals through the lens of @NtlMuseumsScot’s mineral and rock collections! 🪨💎 #ScotGeolFest24 Book here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/101055328106…

Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral and turquoise is a hydrated copper phosphate. Which one gets your vote? #MineralMonday #MinCup24

#DidYouKnow Shetland contains rocks from every geological period from the Precambrian to the Devonian?! It is also the most northerly of the @UNESCO Global Geoparks situated in the UK and a haven for wildlife, especially birds. bgs.ac.uk/geology-projec…

Thread: Here are some examples to start you off in the #NHMRepository. Microscopy and other examination methods for meteorites: hdl.handle.net/10141/623101 nhm.openrepository.com/handle/10141/6… Winchcombe meteorite: hdl.handle.net/10141/623103 hdl.handle.net/10141/623104