Pinolith

Appearance

Pinolith is a black and white metamorphic rock composed of dolomite, graphite, and magnesite. It is a grey-black matrix containing numerous crystals of white to grey magnesite which look a little like pine kernels.

Uses and History

Pinolith is generally used as a decorative stone and is sometimes carved or used for jewellery making.

The name Pinolith comes from a combination of the word ‘Pine’, as in the tree, and ‘lithos’, the Greek word for ‘stone’.

Mineralogy

Hazards and Warnings

Almost all rocks, minerals (and, frankly, almost all other substances on earth) can produce toxic dust when cutting, which can cause serious respiratory conditions including silicosis. When cutting or polishing rocks, minerals, shells, etc, all work should be done wet to minimise the dust, and a suitable respirator or extraction system should be used.

Locales

There appears to be only a single well known locale worldwide, although there may be smaller locales in other global Magnesite deposits.

Translations

Further Reading / External Links

• https://www.mindat.org/min-26694.html
• https://geology.com/gemstones/pinolith/