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@louisedawe.bsky.socialSep 7, 2026, 1:13 AM

I'm voting for #monazite-(Ce) in this round of #MinCup26! In hydrothermal experiments reported in @actacrystb.iucr.org, it occurs intergrown with, and included within, newly formed thorium-bearing silicates, helping to reveal how Th moves through mineral systems. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...

@crystallised-cricket.comSep 7, 2026, 12:19 AM

Tough call for the #MinCup26 today - I do like that in #Andalusite the Al and Si atoms have their own places and stick to them (they often try to hog the same spot!), but I think that #Monazite-(Ce) just pips with its 9-coordinated Cerium atoms (talk about spreading the bonding love!).

Image representing the crystal structure of monazite-(Ce)- here red spheres represent oxygen atoms, lime-green spheres/polygons represent cerium atoms and purple spheres/polygons represent phosphorus atoms. The representation is drawn in VESTA from entry #1698 in the American mineralogist databaseImage representing the crystal structure of andalusite- here red spheres represent oxygen atoms, light blue spheres/polygons represent aluminium atoms and dark blue spheres/polygons represent silicon atoms. The representation is drawn in VESTA from entry #728 in the American mineralogist database
@aletamosquito.bsky.socialSep 7, 2026, 12:14 AM

I don't know how to vote this match. On the one hand, we have a third of the Al2Si05 group of polymorphs which are so important in metamorphic petrology. On the other, we have an interesting holder of various REEs. So friends, shall it be #Andalusite or #Monazite-(Ce)?

#MinCup26
#geology

@schisty.bsky.socialSep 7, 2026, 12:06 AM

#Monazite-(Ce) (why didn’t the parenthesis close on the hashtag) for its importance in dating things older than the hills!

#MinCup26

@mineralcup.bsky.socialSep 7, 2026, 12:00 AM

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 7

It's a color-changing match of informative minerals! Time-tracker #Monazite-(Ce)'s yellow in sunlight darkens to orange in incandescent light while index mineral #Andalusite is pleochroic

VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo with yellow andalusite, backlit to show its color and its growth patterns, which have four-fold symmetry with branching dark streaks in each direction and a glassy amber-yellow crystal point in a craggy setting of smaller, lighter yellow crystals.