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Mineral description and properties:
Olivine is easily recognizable by it's vibrant green color. It one of the most abundant minerals on Earth, but is most commonly found deeper in the Earth's crust or in the upper mantle, and less commonly on the surface as it is easily weathered when in contact with water.
It is usually found in mafic and ultramafic rocks like basalt. It is a 6.5-7 on the mohs hardness scale. It has no streak with a vitreous luster.
Uses for olivine:
Olivine is becoming less and less likely to be used in industry as more cheaper alternatives become available, but it is typically used as slag conditioner in the process of heating metals and in refractory (heat-resistant) materials like brick.
It is also used as a mold for aluminum products
In its gemstone form, it is called peridot and is commonly used in jewelry.
Fun Facts:
Olivine is found in meteorites, in comets, and even the stardust trails behind comets! It is thought that these chunks of rock flying through space are coming from the mantle of planets that are exploding far away. Similar to our mantle, they have olivine.
Olivine has conchoidal fracture similar to obsidian and quartz.
There is a forest in Norway called the Olivine Pine Forest where the Scots pine tree is one of the only trees that thrive on this large area of olivine-rich rock!
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