Eclogite
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Eclogite is a metamorphic rock containing garnet (almandine-pyrope) hosted in a matrix of sodium-rich pyroxene (omphacite). Accessory minerals include kyanite, rutile, quartz, lawsonite, coesite, amphibole, phengite, paragonite, zoisite, dolomite, corundum and, rarely, diamond. The chemistry of primary and accessory minerals is used to classify three types of eclogite. The broad range of eclogitic compositions has led to a longstanding debate on the origin of eclogite xenoliths as subducted, altered oceanic crust.
Eclogite piece from Norway with a garnet (red) and omphacite (greyish-green) groundmass. The sky-blue crystals are kyanite. Minor white quartz is present, presumably from the recrystallization of coesite. A few gold-white phengite patches can be seen at the top. A 23 millimetres (0.91 in) coin added for scale.
Photomicrograph of a thin section of eclogite from Turkey. Green omphacite (+ late chlorite) + pink garnet + blue glaucophane + colorless phengite.
Eclogite
Eclogite from Almenning, Norway. The red-brown mineral is garnet, green omphacite and white quartz.
Rutile
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Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite.
Rutile in quartz
Milled rutile
Acicular crystals of rutile protruding from a quartz crystal