Anyolite

{{Short description|Metamorphic rock}}

File:Anyolite (corundum-amphibole zoisitite) (Neoproterozoic; Mundarara Mine, about 27 km west of Longido, Tanzania) 2 (49144140952).jpg

Anyolite is a metamorphic rock composed of intergrown green zoisite, black/dark green pargasite and ruby.http://www.mindat.org/min-27151.html Mindat It has been found in the Arusha Region of Tanzania and in Austria. It is sometimes incorrectly advertised as a variety of the mineral zoisite. The term anyolite is, however, not an officially accepted term for a metamorphic rock.Metamorphic rocks, A classification and glossary of terms, D. Fettes and J. Desmons ed., Cambridge University Press

Its name derives from the Maasai word anyoli, meaning "green". Anyolite is also referred to as ruby in zoisite, ruby zoisite, ruby-zoisite or Tanganyika artstone.

The contrasting colours make anyolite a popular material for sculptures and other decorative objects. It was first discovered at the Mundarara Mine, near Longido, Tanzania in 1954.

In 2010 it was suggested that a 2 kilogram stone known as the Gem of Tanzania owned by the defunct company Wrekin Construction and fraudulently valued at £11 million was actually a lump of anyolite worth about £100,{{cite news |title=Now £11m Gem of Tanzania hits rock bottom |author=Jonathan Guthrie |newspaper=Financial Times |date=October 1, 2009 |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8f46cfe-ae22-11de-87e7-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8f46cfe-ae22-11de-87e7-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription }} although it was eventually sold for £8000.{{cite web|title=Wrekin's '£11m' Gem of Tanzania ruby sold for £8k|work=BBC News|date=16 February 2010|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/8518242.stm}} It is reported that the stone originally came from a mine near Arusha, Tanzania.{{cite news |last1=Guthrie |first1=Jonathan |last2=Pearson |first2=Samantha |date=27 March 2019 |title=The strange journey of the 'jinxed' jewel |url=https://www.ft.com/content/74f14930-1b07-11de-8aa3-0000779fd2ac |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/74f14930-1b07-11de-8aa3-0000779fd2ac |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=Financial Times |access-date=18 September 2019 }}