Mineral/GemStone Safety

Gem Related Discussion
1

I have been working with the following crushed stones (putting them into jewelry) and I wanted to ask if there were any known hazards from working with them or if there were any precautions or certain handling procedures I should be following (in terms of stones being toxic to use by mixing in resin or being wet ground/polished)on a lapidary? I tried to see if there were MSDS sheets for each stone- but I had no luck finding any. (Although I did find stories about malachite being toxic and pyrite releasing sulfuric acid when wet… but I’m not sure how to deal with any of these safely and would just like to make sure I’m doing the right thing!)

Here’s what I have been using:

  • Bismuth
  • Jet
  • Amazonite
  • Pyrite
  • Howlite
  • Malachite
  • Tiger Eye
  • Sodalite
  • Peridot
  • Lepidolite
  • Lapis
  • Red Opal
  • Turquoise

I’d appreciate any help/advice!

2

Hi definitely if you are grinding or polishing Malachite or Tiger eye you should be wearing a mask not 100% sure on the other gemstones may be someone else has some information for you

3

Hi. Bismuth is not toxic. Reactions Pyrite+H2O+ very high temp. could result some sulfuric acid. but…I don’t believe that concentration are relevant in cutting/lapidary works. The real problem in that work is breathe the powder (silica mainly…). So, never forget the mask…