INSIDE: Crystals and minerals are often mistakenly used as synonyms. However, although they are closely related and both can be incredibly beneficial, the two are not the same. Here’s why….
Minerals offer numerous benefits both for living things and the planet we live on. Research published by PubMed highlights the importance of a mineral-enriched diet for maintaining good health and vitality. They are essential for keeping the biome in balance and play a crucial role in maintaining the quality of the soil.
Just as the minerals we consume are essential for our wellbeing, crystals, which are closely related to minerals, can be extremely beneficial as well.
People often interchange minerals and crystals when talking about their healing properties, but there are some differences. Let’s learn about the link between them and the differences…
What is the Difference Between Crystals and Minerals?
Both minerals and crystals are natural formations, and while they are not completely the same, they are closely linked.
Minerals are found in the earth’s crust and there are 4,000 of them that are naturally forming across the globe. They can be found in various forms and in different percentages in soil, rocks, and sediments.
Some of them are closer to the surface, while others are deeper in the lithosphere. They can be found dissolved in water or as firm, crystalline structures of various sizes, depending on the surroundings they are found in.
Crystals, just like minerals, are also found in the lithosphere, mainly in underground cavities and geodes. But because of their structure, chemical disposition, and long formation process, they are more complex than minerals.
The main link between crystals and minerals is that minerals are essential for crystal formation.
Crystals are solid formations and are the result of geological and chemical processes that include minerals. In other words, there is a presence of minerals in many crystals.
To fully understand the difference, let’s dive deeper into what distinguishes minerals from crystals…
What Is a Mineral?
Minerals are homogeneous solid substances or chemical compounds with a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure.
Because they are active compounds of crystal formation, minerals are more commonly found than crystals, but they are still relatively rare. In larger quantities, they are found only in specific geological locations.
While crystals can be made of one or a few organic elements, minerals are exclusively inorganic.
Minerals Can Form Crystals
Crystals and minerals are closely linked since minerals play a significant role in crystal formation. However, while they can crystalize, minerals don’t form one specific type of crystal.
Instead, because they are a type of natural inorganic material, they play a role in forming various types of crystals. In other words, minerals are like ingredients necessary for crystal formation, but just like a spice, they can be added to different crystal mixtures. One mineral can be found in the chemical structure of multiple types of crystals.
All minerals found in nature can form crystals and can crystalize, and all can play a part in the crystal formation process. Not all minerals form healing crystals inside of a geode. For instance, salts and diamonds, which are minerals, can be found crystallized in pure form.
Minerals Are Found in Various Forms
Minerals can form crystal formations that vary in size and weight. From salt-like crystals, big crystals are found inside geodes.
There are four main types of atomic bonds or arrangements of bonds that minerals can make:
- Molecular
- Metallic
- Ionic
- Covalent
These types of atomic bonds determine the whole crystallization process. They also dictate the properties of crystals that are formed from minerals.
Properties of minerals are crucial for understanding the relationship between crystals and minerals. Minerals impact how the surface of the crystal will look and how shiny it will be.
As an example, Pyrite, which is formed from sulfide minerals, is a metallic crystal.
The type of mineral a crystal is made of determines the physical properties of crystals. For instance, apart from trace elements and other geological and chemical factors, the type of mineral and its atomic bonds play a role in determining the main color of the crystal.
The strength of the atomic bond is associated with the hardness of crystals. This is why every mineral, and crystal it forms, has a different hardness rate on the Moh’s Hardness Scale.
Minerals Are Chemical Compounds
Minerals play an important role in crystal formation but are not the only “ingredient” found in crystals. They are building blocks for crystals and they form crystals under specific conditions.
For instance, the chemical structure of pure Clear Quartz is silicon dioxide, and as such, it is a type or a species of silicate minerals.
However, to get a healing crystal with a complex crystalline lattice…
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