What do minerals such as iron, diamonds, and redstones that appear in Minecraft look like in the real world?

The popular game ' Minecraft ' is known for its high degree of freedom, such as the start of a project to reproduce the earth with Minecraft and the appearance of a fierce man who builds a game emulator in Minecraft. There are many minerals that exist in the real world such as iron, diamond, and lapis lazuli in such Minecraft, and mindat.org, a website that summarizes information on minerals, illuminates the appearance and characteristics of these minerals with minerals in the real world. I will explain while matching.

Jolyon & Katya Ralph --The Rocks and Minerals of Minecraft
https://www.mindat.org/a/minecraft

·table of contents
◆ Granite
◆ Iron
◆ Lava and magma
◆ Rock
◆ Diamond
◆ Lapis lazuli
◆ Red Stone
◆ Nether rack
◆ Glow stone

◆ Granite
In Minecraft, pink ' granite ' is ubiquitous at many points on the map.

According to mindat.org, granite is more often found in white or gray than pink in the real world. Also, granite is not ubiquitous in veins, but generally exists in a form that forms the entire mountain.

◆ Iron
In Minecraft, you can dig underground to mine 'iron ore ' and process it into 'iron ingots ' to prepare equipment such as iron swords, axes, and armor.

Even in the real world, iron ore is mined in large quantities all over the world as 'hematite ' or ' magnetite ' and has been used as iron for thousands of years.

◆ Lava and magma
In Minecraft, you may encounter liquid 'lava ' and solid ' magma blocks ' as you dig deep underground or roam the mountain surface.

In the real world, magma that appears on the surface of the earth as shown in the image on the left below is called 'lava'. 'If you want to explain exactly what you're exploring in Minecraft, you need to call what's flowing on the surface lava and what's underground magma,' mindat.org points out.

◆ Rock
Digging deep into the basement of the Minecraft world, you'll reach an indestructible 'rock' in survival mode. However, in the real world, the first hard rock to reach when digging underground is called bedrock, which is destructible. In addition, mindat.org points out that it is very difficult for humans to reach the mantle inside the Earth due to the extremely high temperatures deep underground.

mindat.org cites ' magnesium olivine ', the gemstone and peridot gemstone, as the closest mineral to rock in Minecraft. Magnesium olivine is considered to be the main mineral that makes up the upper part of the mantle, and human beings can mine magnesium olivine that has been carried near the surface by volcanic eruptions.

◆ Diamond
Magnesium olivine is not the only mineral formed in the mantle. For example, diamond, a popular gemstone, is also a mineral composed of mantle. In the world of Minecraft, you can get 'diamond ore' by digging underground.

However, there is no 'diamond ore' in the real world. In the real world, diamonds are found in rocks such as 'kimberlite ' (left, center) whose main constituent minerals are olivine and mica , and 'eclogite ' whose main constituent minerals are garnet and pyroxene.

However, it is said that there is a very low probability that a lump diamond may be dug out as shown below.

◆ Lapis lazuli
In Minecraft, you can create lapis lazuli from 'lapis lazuli ore ' and use it as a blue dye. Similarly, in the real world, lapis lazuli is used as a blue pigment.

However, in the real world, lapis lazuli can be mined as a mass, so there is no need to perform operations such as 'refining lapis lazuli from lapis lazuli ore.'

◆ Red Stone
In the world of Minecraft, you can dig underground 'redstone ore ' to create electrical circuit components. This is a Minecraft original mineral and there is no similar mineral in the real world.

mindat.org claims that the closest mineral to redstone is 'cuprite, ' which glows red and can be processed into electrically conductive copper. It also names 'natural copper ' as a mineral that conducts electricity without major processing like redstone.

◆ Nether rack
In Minecraft, you can go to the 'Nether ', which is a world different from the world at the start of the game, and in the Nether you can mine many minerals that do not exist in the real world, such as 'Nether Rack'. This nether rack is characterized by burning forever when ignited.

mindat.org cites 'sulfur ' as a mineral close to the Netherrack because it 'ignites' and 'has been historically associated with the devil and the underworld.'

◆ Glow stone
There is also a luminous rock ' Glow Stone ' in the Nether.

'There are no minerals that glow naturally without energy, but there are stones that glow when exposed to UV light!', Says mindat.org, showing how zinc silicate ore glows when exposed to UV light.

These minerals are just a few of the ones described by mindat.org, and more minerals can be found in the original text.