Anthill garnet
Variety Mg3Al2(SiO4)3
Also called Arizona ruby
About it
Small, bright red pyrope grains that ants carry to the surface while digging their nests. Best known from the Navajo Nation in Arizona and New Mexico, where collecting needs tribal permission.
- Type
- Variety
- Group
- Pyrope variety (garnet)
- Formula
- Mg3Al2(SiO4)3
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 7–7.5
- Specific gravity
- 3.62–3.87
- Streak
- white
- Lustre
- vitreous (glassy)
- Crystal system
- Isometric (cubic)
- Colours
- deep red, wine red
- Transparency
- transparent, translucent
- Cleavage and fracture
- none; conchoidal to uneven fracture
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.