Rocksday

Staurolite

A brown metamorphic mineral whose twinned crystals often cross at 90° or 60°, forming natural crosses.

Staurolite specimen
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify staurolite

  • Reddish-brown prisms, often crossed like an X or +.
  • Hard — scratches glass.
  • Usually embedded in mica schist.
  • Rough, dull surface on weathered crystals.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Fairy Stone State Park, Virginia
  • Fannin County, Georgia
  • Brittany, France

Uses

Collected as 'fairy crosses' and good-luck charms.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling. Keep crosses intact.

Did you know?

Staurolite is Georgia's state mineral; its name comes from Greek stauros, 'cross'.

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