Round 1 Match 9

Voting for each match starts at 06:00 GMT and runs for 24 hours. Any votes received after that time will disappear into the void, having no impact on the results chart. Please vote only once per match. Your honesty is appreciated (as is your patience). While we could enact anti-cheating measures, we’d rather make the game as accessible as possible and trust our players to not ruin their own fun.

Fan Campaign Highlights

We see you campaigning for your favourite minerals! Here’s some highlights we caught across the social media platforms we’re monitoring. Please tag us or send a note if you think we missed an educational, hilarious, or catchy campaign moment. Due to individual account settings, we’re unable to embed the extensive meat rock discussions on Bluesky.

One of the old German names for rhodochrosite is Himbeerspat (Raspberry Spar) and I simply love that. #MinCup24

— Kerstin Neuhaus (@MicrotoPico) September 9, 2024

I would like to say that the rock bacon look of #Rhodochrosite would sway me, but #Turquoise has my heart, and the heart wants that bluish-green beauty with copper in it! Mark me #TeamBlue (or as my wife said when informed, “What? Turquoise. How is this even a choice for you?”) #MinCup24

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— Martin Hajovsky (@martinhajovsky.bsky.social) September 9, 2024 at 8:02 AM

Scientists posit that evaporation of CO3-rich lakes concentrates P at the surface of a planet. Mineralization of the phosphate #Turquoise signifies the enrichment of P on Earth’s land surfaces, and its availability for lifeforms to evolve. 💙🧪⚒️ #MinCup24 www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-ma...

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— Dee Gardner (@glacierpique.bsky.social) September 9, 2024 at 8:08 PM

For #MinCup24 today, we pick #Turquoise—a prized gem for many cultures worldwide, including Indigenous groups in the Southwest United States. @MineralCup

Read how Zuni artist Mallory Quetawki uses turquoise in her paintings to communicate science: https://t.co/gJIVQnnI85

— AGU's Eos (@AGU_Eos) September 9, 2024

Rhodochrosite, my love, you’ll always have my vote. This mineral’s stunning variation I color, its perfect three directional cleavage, fluorescence and diversity in formation- from stalagmites to hydrothermal veins-🤌💥🤌💥 #MEA410

— MeA6789 (@MeA6789) September 9, 2024

I am fond of #Rhodochrosite especially if it looks like forbidden bacon +can be found in jewellery but must give #Turquoise the art vote for millennia of use in art & jewellery by ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Persians, Mesopotamians, in the Indus Valley & ancient China & many places since. #MinCup24

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— Ele Willoughby (@minouette.bsky.social) September 9, 2024 at 10:00 AM

Turquoise is my pick today. 1. It can make pretty, sparkly crystals! 2. It was revered by cultures separated by thousands of miles and oceans. 3. Stones mined in New Mexico were traded throughout Mesoamerica. Photo by Rob Lavinsky commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tu... #MinCup24

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— Susie Leopold (@blastylavagrrrl.bsky.social) September 9, 2024 at 4:00 PM

Now it’s time to recruit more players! Chat in the comments or on the social media platform of your choice (tag us and use #MinCup24 when you can). Everyone deserves to learn more about minerals, choose favourites, and enjoy.

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