Copper

What is copper?
Copper is the 29th element in the periodic table of elements. It is a very old element, as it has been known since prehistoric times. Even though it was known of for all that time, it has only been mined for the past 5000 years. The word "copper" originated for the latin word "cuprum", meaning "from the isle of Cyprus", and isle much famed for its copper mines.

Copper is a very pretty metal. It is reddish brown in color and has a very bright and shiny coating. It is very malleable and is a very good heat and electricity conductor. It is second only to silver as the best electrical conductor.


Where is it found?
While copper is often found in its native state, it is also found in many other minerals, including malachite, cuprite, bornite, azurite, and chalcopyrite. Raw copper ore deposits are known in North America, South America, and Africa. Copper can also be obtained by smelting, leaching, and electrolysis of the copper sulfides, oxides, and carbonates.

What is it used for?
Copper has many different and interesting uses, including:

• It is widely used for electrical purposes
• Copper is often used in plumbing pipes and pots and pans for cookware
• Copper is highly toxic to many animals, and is often used in algicides and pesticides
• Used in chemistry. Famous for testing Fehling's solution to test for sugar.

Nickel

What is Nickel?

Nickel is the 28th element in the periodic table of elements. Discovered in 1751 by Axel Cronstedt of Sweden, nickel is currently believed to be the Earth's second most abundant element, after iron. Nickel is a very hard white metal, and it needs to be polished often to be kept intact. 

Mixed with other elements, it is not dangerous, but any given person should not be exposed to pure nickel for too long as some of its compounds are toxic. Many people are allergic to nickel metal, so many in fact that nickel was named the 2008 Contact Allergen of the Year by the American Contact Dermatitis Society.

The word origin of nickel actually comes from the word kupfernickel, which means Old Nick's Copper or Devil's Copper. It got this name because German miners seeking copper would occasionally come across a red ore with flecks of green. Believing they had found copper ore, they would mine it and take it in for smelting. They would then find the ore produced no copper. They named the ore 'kupfernickel', or Devil's copper, since the Devil switched out the useful metal to confound the miners.

What is it used for?

Nickel is used in and for many things, including:

Raw Nickel

• Nickel is a main component in stainless steel
• Nickel forms very useful alloys
• Used for making corrosion resistant alloys
• Coinage (DUH)
• Armor plating
• Applied to other metals to provide protective coating
• Used in ceramics, magnets, and batteries.

Rhodochrosite

What is rhodochrosite?
Rhodochrosite (I am just going to call it R, I cannot spell that over and over again) is a very pretty gem. It has a very beautiful color of rose pink, caused by the element manganese and is created when the element is dissolved in ground water. It then combines with a carbonate material and then drips off the ceiling of caves and crevices deep underground.

R is found most commonly in the form of stalagmites and stalactites. Rhodochrosite, which means rose, is not fully pink, but has white bands within it usually, almost like a tree trunk. The stone is usually carved into figurines and small trinket boxes while the stalactite forms are typically sliced and used for jewelry.

If the gems have good quality after being sliced, or if crystals are found, the gems will be used in high end jewelry. However, gems that are not as good are used in regular everyday jewelry such as silver and gold.

Where is it found?
R is most commonly found sprouting in caves in Argentina, but other known sources are:

• Peru
• Colorado
• Montana
• U.S.A
• Quebec

In fact, Colorado loved R so much that they made it the official state mineral in 2002, after the Platte Canyon High School in Bailey Colorado made the proposal based on the fact that the Sweet Home Miner near Alma produces the highly prized and rare red crystals that are found in only a few place on Earth. R is a very soft gem, only a 3.5/4 on the Mohs scale.

The mystic rhodochrosite

R is thought by many to be a stone of love and balance. Some believe that it increases the ability to handle life problems. Many old healers thought it relieved stress and often used it in their practices. Meanwhile, the Incas, who called R Inca Rose, believed that it was the blood of their former kings turned to stone.