Lapis Lazuli Not a Mineral

Rough lapis lazuli from Afghanistan.

Although often described as a mineral lapis lazuli is a rock.  It's made up of several different minerals some of which include sodalite, lazurite, pyrite, diopside, mica and calcite.  The visible inclusions of pyrite and rich blue colour come from the mineral lazurite. 

Lapis lazuli has been mined for at least 6,500 years.  Badakhshan Province in north east Afghanistan is home to the oldest mines in the world. The stone used in ancient Egypt is likely to have come from here.

Lapis lazuli can be found in smaller quantities in a few other countries.  The quality and shade of colour is rarely the same.

In recent years material has been found in Chile which can rival the colour of stone mined in Afghanistan. The stone from Chile contains more limestone.

Large quantities of lapis lazuli have also been found around Lake Baikal in the Russian region of Siberia. 

Our lapis lazuli rough stones are a medium to large size.  Exact weights and sizes vary slightly from piece to piece.