Nature never ceases to amaze, either because of its capacity for adaptation, its constant evolution, its ability to endure or the gifts it has offered and continues to offer humanity, such as water, the biodiversity of fauna and flora; and of course among many others, gems and precious stones. Thus, it was the case of what happened on one of the islands of Hawaii, on May 3, 2018, when the Kilauea volcano began to erupt; in addition to dealing with the consequences, its inhabitants were also surprised with a lot of mysterious green gems.
The word volcano comes from a deity of Roman mythology named Vulcano, the king of fire. It has a certain relationship, since this is a geological structure that looks from the outside like a mountain, but that has a superior opening, through which gases, liquids and solids that emerge from the interior of the earth escape. There are different types of volcanoes, as well as different types of eruptions.
In the case of Hawaii, this is a volcanic archipelago, that is, the islands that were formed by the action of volcanoes that emerged from the bottom of the sea. According to experts, this was from a source of magma that in geology is called hot point. Only the volcanoes in the southern half of the Hawaii Island remain active today. The inactive volcanoes are in the oldest islands, while the newer islands have volcanoes still active. Only in Hawaii there are five volcanoes, including one of the most active in the world.
The eruptions of volcanoes of Hawaii are particular, since the lava they expel is a little viscous, quite fluid, as it does not have many pyroclastic materials (Hot mixture of gases, ash and rock fragments). The gases are released little by little, and therefore, the explosions are minimal.
However, on May 3, 2018, the Kilauea volcano, the most active in the world, erupted, forcing the evacuation of a large number of its inhabitants and leaving damage at the level of the structures. Now, what are these green gems that began to be seen after the eruption? They’re real.
According to the United States Geological Survey, part of the pieces found have yet to be studied, but in principle they are real. Explosions of lava and ash caused the crater to expel crystals, taking into account the characteristics of the area it can be said that it is a mineral called: Olivine. This mineral is characteristic of volcanic areas, so its size can range from a grain of sand to the size of a small rock.
“Olivine is one of the fundamental components of basalt, a mineral that makes up 99.99% of the rocks of these islands,” the geologist, Gary Lewis, told BBC World.
Olivine is one of the most important minerals that can be found in igneous rocks, it belongs to the family of neosilicates and contains a large amount of magnesium. But in addition, iron can also be extracted from magnesium. Even though it is common to find them on the Island, finding them after a volcanic eruption is something that does not happen every day.
Regarding the uses that are given to this mineral, they are ideal for the manufacture of refractory containers, likewise, the world of jewelry demand for them enormously to be able to manufacture jewels through gems like the peridot, taking advantage of the variety of colors, such as the transparent one, the green one and the yellow one. However, the price of it in the market is not high at all, it is between 50 and 80 dollars per carat.
Finally, not everyone can take these gems to enrich themselves, because taking away stones, minerals or sand from Hawaii is punishable by the law of that state. The people of Hawaii expect the volcano rests, but scientists fear that it will be the precursor of a major eruption, hopefully not.
ALFA