Montmorillonite

Field of view: 10 mm. Massive montmorillonite. This ore was formed by smectitization of ryolite or pyroclastic rock. The gray specimen is composed of montmorillonite. The flow structure of the protolith is clearly oberved. This ore has been utilized as soap and cosmetics by the name of Ghassoul in North Africa and Middle East for thousands years. Ghassoul are at the shops such as "Glass roots". Modern cosmetics like cosmetic foundation also contain artificial montmorillonite.