Minerals from Russia

Russia is vast and geologically diverse, with a long history of mining and mineralogical study. It has produced a wide range of mineral specimens, many of which are well known among collectors.

The Ural Mountains have historically been one of the most important mineral regions in Russia, yielding specimens of emerald, demantoid garnet, topaz, fluorite, and a variety of copper and iron minerals. The emeralds from the Tokovaya and Mariinskoe deposits can be of very high quality, though much of the production is cut rather than sold as matrix specimens. Demantoid garnets from the Urals are typically a rich green and sometimes associated with asbestos matrix.

The Dalnegorsk region in the Russian Far East is another major source of fine specimens. It is especially known for sharp, lustrous fluorite, galena, calcite, and quartz. The transparency and habit of some of the fluorite and calcite from here rivals the best in the world. These often appear in collections and on the market labelled simply as “Dalnegorsk,” without mine names.

Chukotka and Siberia have produced some interesting gold and platinum specimens, though these are rarely seen outside of specialised collections. Native copper, cuprite, and associated secondary minerals have also been reported from a range of locations, though they are not as common on the market as material from the Urals or Dalnegorsk.

Older specimens may be labelled “USSR” or use Cyrillic transliterations that differ from modern names.

Amazonite from the country has always been very popular, consisting of a more banded form than most other sources worldwide, giving it a series of bands and stripes between the green and white feldspar minerals.

Russian Shungite is very popular amongst the new age community, although properly it is a mineraloid, not a mineral.

Russia’s current export situation can make sourcing new material anything from illegal to unpredictable, though older stocks remain common for now.

Russia