You said it yourself; it's noncrystalline, so it's amorphous carbon, though there are often fullerenes present, a quick online search concluded. It
could be seen as analogous to amber or pearl; biological in origin, non-crystalline(and therefore not a mineral) but still having some of the visual
properties of a mineral or gemstone.
Quote: | The varying elements and non elements in shungite are as follows:
Carbon: 20% – 95%, Silicon: 5% – 60%, Aluminum: up to 4%, Iron: up to 3.5%, Magnesium: up to 3.5%, Kaliy: up to 12%, Sulfur : up to 1.2 %,
Calcium: up to 0.58 %, Phosphorus:- up to 0.34 % and various other elements and concentrated organic matter |
These impurities are similar to what you might find in volcanically formed rock, with which shungite coincides.
[Edited on 10-22-2014 by No Tears Only Dreams Now]
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