Fluorite

Illinois State Mineral

Fluorite-DentonMine-Illinois.jpg

Fluorite from Denton Mine, near Cave-in-Rock, Illinois, USA.

Fluorite; Denton Mine, near Cave-in-Rock, Illinois, USA.  Photo by James St. John/Flickr (Use Permitted with Attribution).

Official State Mineral of Illinois

Fluorite was designated as the official state mineral of Illinois in 1965. All State Minerals

Illinois is the largest producer of fluorite in the United States (the most important deposits are located in southern Illinois at Rosiclare and Cave-in-Rock).

Fluorite is an important industrial mineral; it's used in the production of steel (used as a flux, or cleaning agent), to make hydrofluoric acid (for pottery, optics, and plastics), to make opalescent glass, and in enameling cookware.

Illinois

Images

Blue fluorite; photo by cobalt123 on Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution / share alike).

Blue fluorite

Tumbled piece of bi-colored fluorite; photo by Jarno (jaja_1985) on Flickr (use permitted with attribution).

Bi-colored fluorite

Videos

Large Glassy Purple over Blue Fluorite Illinois