| Verde Fuoco ('Green Fire' in Italian; also called Harlequin) takes its name from the vivid green and red colors that dominate its varied appearance. It is a premium grade stone, used in applications such as countertops and floor tiles. Although commonly called granite in the architectural industry, it is probably of a granitic composition with the usual feldspar, quartz and ferromagnesian minerals which has undergone extensive metamorphism /metasomatism – not quite to gneissic grade- and alteration due to hydrothermal processes. To that effect, many minerals have been formed in the process including hornblende, chlorite, epidote, carbonates, iron, a variety of hydrothermal clays and silicification. The unique colors of the rock resulted from the mixing and reactions of these minerals and the stressing and straining shaped the patterns that are seen in the rock. Verde Fuoco / Harlequin also hosts fine disseminated sulfides including pyrite and possibly chalcopyrite grains and occasional micro veinlets. It is quarried in Gawler Craton of South Australia.Information provided by Stone Boutique Australia. |
