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Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 14h

Why hello, minerals from Cups past!

It’s always fun to see our contenders (and some Champions) at an affordable price tag in local rock shops.

Black kyanite fans in small cardboard half-boxes

Box of raw pale blue larimar with polished beads in the adjacent box

A box of rough cream and pink rhodochrosite priced per ounce

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darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · 2d

i am not saying the world has gone completely bonkers but
the world has gone absolutely completely bonkers

Danny K @dannykpolitics.bsky.social · 5d

WATCH: ‘Portland Frog’ pepper balled by ICE agents

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Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 8d

Have minerals you want to see run in #MinCup26? The nomination form is open! www.mineralcup.org/nominations

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Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 9d

We have a #MinCup25 champion!!

Congratulations, #Kyanite!
www.mineralcup.org/2025

After eight years of competing, another few hours to verify votes was nothing, right?

Amazing first run, #Tugtupite, and better luck next year.

2025 — Mineral Cup

www.mineralcup.org

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Bkania @bkania.bsky.social · 9d

Thank you.

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Bkania @bkania.bsky.social · 9d

Enduring gratitude for all of you! Thank you for devoting your precious time to such a wonderful undertaking! Much Thanks.

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 9d

#MinCup25 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology 🔭🪐

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 9d

Hark! What’s that we see on the horizon?

Is it something new? Something mostly metallic, quite heavy, and essential to society? It’s an all-new collaboration with IMA!

Ore Cup: www.mineralcup.org/about-ore-cup

Voting starts Monday November 3. Winner crowned IMA Ore Mineral of the Year

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Bkania @bkania.bsky.social · 9d

I second that!

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Martin Hajovsky @martinhajovsky.bsky.social · 9d

Heroes all. #MinCup25

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 9d

Ever wonder about who makes Mineral Cup happen?

Here’s the #MinCup25 volunteer team! www.mineralcup.org/2025/volunte...

Want to join us? We’re always recruiting more volunteers!

Volunteers — Mineral Cup

www.mineralcup.org

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 9d

#MinCup25 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology 🔭🪐

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 9d

Ever wonder about who makes Mineral Cup happen?

Here’s the #MinCup25 volunteer team! www.mineralcup.org/2025/volunte...

Want to join us? We’re always recruiting more volunteers!

Volunteers — Mineral Cup

www.mineralcup.org

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Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 9d

Ever wonder about who makes Mineral Cup happen?

Here’s the #MinCup25 volunteer team! www.mineralcup.org/2025/volunte...

Want to join us? We’re always recruiting more volunteers!

Volunteers — Mineral Cup

www.mineralcup.org

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PBS News @pbsnews.org · 9d

America has a new favorite fat bear.

Overcoming a broken jaw and an injured paw, Bear 32, also known as ‘Chunk,’ was proclaimed the winner of this year’s “Fat Bear Week.”

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Dots and Lines @dotsandlines.bsky.social · 9d

As of placing my vote, it looks like only a one-vote margin between the two. #MinCup25 is a close one!

If you haven't voted, now is the time! If you have, tell your friends to join!

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 10d

#MinCup25 Final: After a month of learning and laughter, we’re at the final match to determine the 2025 Mineral Cup Champion! We have blue blades of #kyanite up against optical magician #tugtupite.

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r5...
Results: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Vote in 2025 Final Match — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Kyanite vs Tugtupite Photo credits: John Sobolewski and Parent Géry

www.mineralcup.org

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Dr. Judith Hubbard @judithgeology.bsky.social · 10d

⚒️ 🧪

A M6.9 earthquake struck Cebu island in the Philippines today, causing at least 20 deaths.

The rupture seems to have occurred on an unmapped fault, started below the ocean and continuing to the southwest, passing near populated areas of Cebu.

Read more:

Deadly M6.9 earthquake strikes central Philippines

An unexpected event on an apparently unmapped fault

earthquakeinsights.substack.com

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Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 11d

#MinCup25 Semifinals 2: Beautiful optics are in play for our last semifinal round between reindeer blood #tugtupite and desert queen #dioptase.

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4...
Results: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Vote in Semifinal 2 — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Tugtupite vs Dioptase Photo credits: Parent Géry and Michael Roarke

www.mineralcup.org

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Matt Cameron @mattcameron.bsky.social · 11d

hey @nytimes.com: there is no counterpoint here. There are no credible legal experts who would EVER say that the US military has any right or authority to blow civilian craft out of the Caribbean and kill their crews from afar without any provocation. There is no other side to this question.

"Some legal experts have called it a crime to summarily kill civilians not directly taking part in hostilities, even if they are believed to be smuggling drugs."

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Reuters @reuters.com · 11d

US court suspends Trump layoff of hundreds at Voice of America reut.rs/3VHWjRR

US court suspends Trump layoff of hundreds at Voice of America

A federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration on Monday to pause the layoffs of hundreds of employees from the agency that owns the U.S. news service Voice of America, adding that government officials had shown "concerning disrespect" for the court's directives.

reut.rs

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Bkania @bkania.bsky.social · 11d

Can #Dioptase capture the revenge vote from #TeamPervovskite? #Perovskite?
The newcomer, #Tugtupite has amassed a huge following as a newcomer. #Mincup25

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 11d

#MinCup25 Semifinals 2: Beautiful optics are in play for our last semifinal round between reindeer blood #tugtupite and desert queen #dioptase.

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4...
Results: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Vote in Semifinal 2 — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Tugtupite vs Dioptase Photo credits: Parent Géry and Michael Roarke

www.mineralcup.org

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Ele Willoughby @minouette.bsky.social · 11d

Hematite wins the arts vote for sculpture too! It’s been used to colour sculpture and within sculpture and jewellery for centuries!

Vote hematite! #MinCup25

Mirror-bearer
Maya artist(s)
410–650 CE

“This Mirror-Bearer figure is the best-preserved example of portable Maya wood sculpture and one of the highlights of the Early Classic period (ca. 250–550 CE) Maya art. The artist created this figure out of a solid piece of hardwood from the genus Cordia, known locally as bocote. Research determined a radiocarbon age for the wood of 1425 years before present (± 120 years), or a range of 410 to 650 CE. It was said to have come from the border region between Guatemala and Tabasco, Mexico. Most likely, to judge from its extraordinary preservation, the findspot must have been a dry cave or well-sealed funerary chamber. The damage on its left side is the result of some wear or decay in that context, perhaps from resting against a surface or being subjected to varying passage of air.”

Coloured with hematite

Title: Mirror-bearer

Artist: Maya artist(s)

Date: 410–650 CE

Geography: Guatemala or Mexico

Culture: Maya

Medium: Cordia wood (bocote), red hematite

Dimensions: H. 14 1/8 x W. 9 x D. 9 in. (35.9 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979

Object Number: 1979.206.1063

Via the Met Museum

Crocodile-head figure pendant
Chiriquí artist(s)
700–1550 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 360

“This large pendant takes the form of a broad-shouldered standing male with a crocodilian head. The head and body were expertly cast from gold-copper alloy in two pieces using the lost-wax technique. The bipartite work is connected at the neck with a chain-link join. This feature, rare in metal works from the Americas, allows for articulated movement of the body so that it may swing freely from side to side. Reflective pyrite inlays in the torso and eyes are also unusual and add to the crocodilian being’s striking appearance. The figure is also adorned with a braided belt with spherical ornaments.”

Title: Crocodile-head figure pendant

Artist: Chiriquí artist(s)

Date: 700–1550 CE

Geography: Costa Rica or Panama

Culture: Chiriqui

Medium: Gold (cast alloy), pyrite inlay, hematite

Dimensions: H. 6 x W. 4 1/8 x D. 2 in. (15.2 x 10.5 x 5.1 cm)

Classification: Metal-Ornaments

Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979

Object Number: 1979.206.1064

Via the Met Museum

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Ele Willoughby @minouette.bsky.social · 11d

Not only is hematite one of the oldest pigments known to our species, it’s also carved. Vote for this titan of art history!

Hematite was used for amulets for healing & to protect health as it was believed to stop the flow of blood. 🩸

Vote hematite while you still can!

#MinCup25

Amulet Carved in Intaglio (Incised)
Byzantine (Egypt)
6th–7th century

Inscriptions identify the subject of this amulet as the Woman with the Issue of Blood (Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:43–48). On the reverse a woman stands in the orant (prayer) pose. Hematite was believed to stop the flow of blood and was a favorite medium for amulets related to female reproductive health and menstrual problems.

Via the Met Museum

Necklace with Gold Marriage Medallion and Hematite Amulet
Byzantine
400–450 (medallion); 100–200 (amulet)

“The marriage of the two figures on the gold pendant is blessed by Christ who holds wreaths over their heads, a Christian variation of a pagan motif. The hematite pendant with its solar deity was probably attached for its healing qualities.

This work was part of a hoard found at the base of the Capitoline Hill, the center of commercial activity in Rome even after the transfer of the imperial capital to Constantinople. The jewelry was probably hidden during the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 or the Vandals in 455.”

Necklace with Gold Marriage Medallion and Hematite Amulet

Date: 400–450 (medallion); 100–200 (amulet)

Culture: Byzantine

Medium: Gold wrought and worked in repoussé and hematite

Dimensions: Length chain: 31in. (78.7cm)
Medallion: 2 9/16 x 7/16 in. (6.5 x 1.1 cm)
Hermatite: 1 11/16 x 1 3/16 x 1/4 in. (4.3 x 3 x 0.7 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Gold

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1958

Object Number: 58.12

Via The Met

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Bkania @bkania.bsky.social · 11d

I would say on just the campaigning alone, #Hematite should win this Semi Final round of #Mincup25 but alas it is based on votes. Please vote for #Hematite

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 12d

#MinCup25 Semifinals 1: It's a battle of classic minerals for red #hematite vs blue #kyanite.

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4...
Results: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Vote in Semifinal 1 — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Hematite vs Kyanite Photo credits: John Sobolewski

www.mineralcup.org

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 11d

Silver hematite iron roses (sculptural, tabular crystals that form rose-like petals & clusters) with prasem quartz (colored green by acicular inclusions of actinolite) forms an ocean floor seascape. Truly #EarthArt.

See comment 👇🏼

#MinCup25 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology 🔭🪐

Spectacular silver #Hematite iron roses (sculptural, tabular crystals that form rose-like petals & clusters) with prasem quartz (colored green by acicular inclusions of actinolite) forms an ocean floor seascape. From Mongolia. Photo source: https://www.ebay.it/itm/141193859226

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Martin Hajovsky @martinhajovsky.bsky.social · 11d

Fellow Hematitians, lend me your votes! (Unless you’ve already voted. If so, then lend me your lobbying to get MORE votes.) With an hour-and-a-half to go, #Kyanite has a pretty big lead over our #Hematite. Bloodstone Buddy powers, ACTIVATE! #MinCup25

Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4...

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 12d

#Hematite Iron Roses are sculptural, radiating tabular crystals that form rose-like petals, and clusters. I wonder if iron roses ever bloomed on Mars? More info in comment.

Vote only once: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r4...

#EarthArt #MinCup25 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology 🔭🪐

Metallic hematite crystals forming rose shaped from Huanggang Mines, Keshiketeng Co., Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. From: https://www.geologyin.com/2024/01/hematite-properties-uses-meaning.html

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Martin Hajovsky @martinhajovsky.bsky.social · 11d

In the end, while this is a very tough choice between two I love, I vote #Hematite. It turns Mars red, tells the story of the oxygenation of Earth AND possible presence of water on early Venus, crucial in art (ancient & modern) & was my gateway drug into geology. Say YES to the bloodstone! #MinCup25

Hematite in early Earth and Mars. Guess which is which!

Hematite, a common mineral to these three sisters.

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