August 2022 – Fluorite

The mineral of the month August is fluorite, which can occur as beautiful transparent cubes in manifold colors. There are many well-known finding places in Germany, such as the former Finstergrund mine in the Black Forest. In the tunnels and shafts of today’s mining museum you can see fluorite underground. However, we also encounter fluorite in other forms every day: The element fluorine is extracted from it, which is contained, for example, as fluorides in toothpaste.