Environment

This rock is of no value to jewellers. Yet thanks to the peculiar shape of its crystals, this dark reddish-brown mineral enjoys unusually high demand.

The predatory appearance of this stone seems to warn of the danger hidden inside it. However, more than one hundred people were destined to die before the secret of the mineral was revealed.

This mineral is most often associated with liquid, which has a sharp characteristic odor. It can be obtained from manure. However, this is no obstacle for making from it candies popular in Europe.

In the second half of the 19th century, art iron casting became the trademark of the Urals and gained wide recognition around the world. The real triumph of products of the Ural masters occurred at the world exhibition in Paris. Products of the famous Kaslin plant were presented in a chiseled pavilion of cast iron in the Byzantine style and received a “Grand Prix” gold medal, the top award of the time.

This stone is the official symbol of the American state of Colorado. However, its appearance is more like a flower than a mineral.

This rare and beneficial mineral is composed of almost an entire periodic table. However, there are very few deposits where it can be mined — less than a dozen in the whole world, with the largest one located in Russia.

If not for this rock, humankind would probably have never survived at the dawn of civilisation with its harsh environment. There is a vast potential hidden in the mineral to which a whole epoch is linked.

This stone is a real treasure of the Hermitage. Yet there is a place on Earth where the mineral literally lies underfoot.