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 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.
Agate is a pretty common and readily available mineral, two completely identical samples of which do not exist in nature. Each specimen has a unique pattern, the same as with human fingerprints.
By its outward appearance, this rock is well ahead of all the other gemstones. It did not become popular among jewellers, but on the other hand, it has become a primary source of one of the most demanded metals of the 21st century.
This stone is a symbol of aristocracy and impeccable taste. A hundred years ago or so, people were risking their lives to get their hands on it. As a result, mineral-bearing marine animals were almost driven into extinction.
Until the early XX century, no one had known there were vast deposits of this mineral in Russia’s possession. Without this stone, the Kola Peninsula would probably remain a humanless and deserted territory