Which mineral is the best of them all? Campaign & vote in
#MinCup
each September. Founded in 2017 by Eddie Dempsey, admin
@MikaMcKinnon
, DM to volunteer!
It’s that most beautiful time of the year! A mix of 32 minerals (& groups!) from common to esoteric are competing, each with unique reasons to love it above all others.
But only one mineral can be crowned champion.
#MinCup2021
daily votes start September 1st.
THE BRACKET IS READY!!
After recruiting
#MinCup21
’s strongest contenders & pouring through your nominations, we have our lineup for
#MinCup22
.
Voting starts September 1st!
It's 2020, the year where anything can happen.
The
#MinCup2020
bracket is sticking to the rules with all official minerals. Voting starts September 1st.
Who will join legends
#Olivine
(2017),
#Garnet
(2018), &
#IceMin
(2019) to be this year's
#champion
?
#MinCup2022
is a celebration of light & colour!
This year’s Champion may be soft but it campaigned hard!
#Fluorite
charmed many with its cubic habit, octahedral cleavage, rainbow of colours, and of course its fluorescent glow.
Condolences,
#Zircon
, and congratulations Fluorite!
After more than 100,000 votes in a month of campaigning, we have our
#MinCup2021
winner by the slimmest of margins.
CONGRATULATIONS
#Quetzalcoatlite
!!! You are the most beloved champion of 2021.
#Tourmalime
, you were a worthy opponent.
The
#MinCup2019
line-up is complete. The draw has been made & battle lines drawn. Voting starts on Sept 1st. Who will join the legends
#OLIVINE
(2017) &
#GARNET
(2018) to be crowned 2019
#champion
. Tell us in the comments which match has caught your eye & what team you are on!
RESULT: after 77,000 tournament votes it came down to a margin of 250 votes. You have chosen the "Winter Queen"
#IceMin
as your
#MinCup2019
#CHAMPION
. Well done to everyone who got their mineral to the crown. You deserve a well chilled drink!
Please welcome our
#MinCup2020
Champion to the stage,
#MAGNETITE
!
The ferrimagnetic iron oxide takes the crown comfortably (after far too many down-to-the-wire matches), possibly via magnetic attraction.
It’s that most beautiful time of the year! 32 minerals from common to esoteric are competing, each with unique reasons to love it above all others.
But only one mineral can be crowned
#MinCup2022
#champion
.
Daily votes start 12:00 UTM on September 1st.
We have a bracket!!
#MinCup23
is coming fast and we’re scrambling to get ready. Our website has this year’s mineral list, starting bracket, and even a test vote if you want to warm up your polling muscles:
After over 86,800 votes, this is your final bracket for
#MinCup2020
!
We’re reeling from how many matches were decided by 10-20 votes. It was a strange year in many ways, and we’re so grateful for your participation, photos, science, memes, and enthusiasm!
FINAL: here we go. After over 70,000 votes you have whittled it down to two minerals. Your
#MinCup2019Final
is the
#IceMin
vs
#Quartz
you have 24hrs to vote for your 2019 champion. Hold nothing back, lobby hard, share loads and get everyone you know to vote for your mineral!
ANNOUNCEMENT : in solidarity with
#ClimateStrike
around the world,
#MinCup2019
will be suspended until 21 Sept 2019. We'll be switching our phones off and doing our bit.
ROUND 1 MATCH 1
#MinCup2022
starts with extremes with
#Schorl
of team tourmaline vs
#Kaolinite
of team clay!
Hard or soft, dark or light, decorative or utilitarian: which is the better mineral?
Reply to persuade others, quote to recruit your friends, and vote!
In a last minute turn of events,
#Zircon
melts
#IceMin
's chances at a double championship with a 0.4% lead (~26 votes) and moves on to the next round.
#MinCup2021
FINALS
#Quetzalcoatlite
vs
#Tourmaline
This is it, the moment you've been waiting for. For the past month you've been voting and eliminating minerals, and you've now whittled it down to two: a newcomer and a collector's favorite.
Defend your champion, and vote!
Just been looking at some stats for
#mincup2019
& I'm bowled over. During the cup the tweets from this account alone earned over 3.4 MILLION impressions! thats a lot of new people. so here is a massive *HELLO* to all the non-geo people we've reached from all of us on geotwitter!
ROUND 1 MATCH 15
The long awaited match of the champions is here. Will the King of the Poles
#IceMin
win again, or will the Fiery Lord of the Deep
#Olivine
solidify its status as the first?
In Round 1 of
#MinCup2021
, you win or you die.
Choose your champion, and vote!
ROUND 2 MATCH 7
A match between two geochronological minerals, which will last longer between the time capsule
#Zircon
and the preserver
#IceMin
? That would be your choice.
Present your arguments, recruit people to your cause, and vote!
Are you ready to meet the
#MinCup2020
contenders?
Lots of changes this year:
#MinCup2019
champion
#IceMineral
is taking a year-long break!
All contenders are on the September 2020 IMA list of official minerals: (no mineral groups!)
RESULT : I think I need a lie down. That was epic but it's
#PLAGIOCLASE
that takes the win by less than 13 votes and knocks the defending champ out in round 1 of
#MinCup2019
Last year, we tried to find minerals named for Black geoscientists to highlight.
We failed.
Then we tried to find minerals officially recognized as discovered by Black geoscientists.
Again, we failed.
That’s not ok.
A friendly heads-up!
⚠️*High tweet volume warning*⚠️starting today for
#BlackInGeoscienceWeek
.
We ask you to join us as we amplify our Black colleagues and their work in Earth and Planetary Science this week.
ROUND 1 MATCH 8
It’s a silica showdown of
#Quartz
vs
#Opal
!
It’s a classic crystal vs an amorphous exception, a utilitarian beauty vs a precious gem, the staple silica vs its hydrated kin. Both beloved for their beauty and variety, but only one continues in
#MinCup2022
!
Vote!
#MINCUP2022
FINALS
After a month-long elimination of many fine minerals, it all comes down to two worthy contenders who need no introduction.
#Zircon
#Fluorite
You have just 24 hours to share, teach, recruit, campaign, and most importantly, VOTE.
ROUND 1 MATCH 2
It’s a battle of gems as shiny shark tooth
#Fluorapatite
faces down deep green imperial
#Jadeite
.
We all love beautiful rocks, but only one can continue for
#MinCup2022
. Which will it be?
You have 24 hours. Teach, learn, argue, and VOTE!
It’s September somewhere! (ie, in Greenwich, the arbitrary start of time). That means it’s MINERAL CUP!!!!
32 minerals enter, but only one can be
#MinCup23
Champion.
Round 1 Match 1 starts now:
We’re expanding! Thanks to a lovely fan, we now run !
We’re (slowly) getting started on additional social media platforms and will experiment with hosting polls for the All-Star mini-
#MinCup
in early 2023.
32 minerals, alike in majesty
(On
#MinCup2022
, where we fight our polls),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where any rock may win loyalty of souls.
#MinCup2020
is kicking off quasi-alphabetically in a battle of peacock ore
#Bornite
vs poisonous red
#Cinnabar
Pick your champion, make your arguments, and VOTE!
After narrowly leading all day, flipping in the last few minutes, then flipping BACK,
#Quetzalcoatlite
won by 0.2% vs
#Tourmaline
. That’s 9 ± 4 votes (by how the poll closure functioned, probably more like 0.1% & 4 votes).
After more than 100,000 votes in a month of campaigning, we have our
#MinCup2021
winner by the slimmest of margins.
CONGRATULATIONS
#Quetzalcoatlite
!!! You are the most beloved champion of 2021.
#Tourmalime
, you were a worthy opponent.
ROUND 1 MATCH 1:
#MinCup2021
kicks off in a battle of pastels between the purple
#Bentorite
and the blue
#Sodalite
.
Pick your champion, present your arguments, and vote!
Wait, what's that? A list of all the minerals competing in
#MinCup23
? YES!
Bracket released as soon as we finish checking for typos & accidental repeated matchups.
Voting starts September 1 on our website.
Another excellent month of becoming emotionally attached-to/disappointed-by/angry-at minerals has come to an end.
This year we've had 1 bird, 1 lizard, 3 dogs and 14 cats helping humans vote.
#MinCup2022
#AnimalsOfMinCup
RESULT: what an opening match... after a whopping ~2700 votes(!!!!) and a late comeback you have decided that it is
#Ice
that moves forward to the next round of
#MinCup2019
well done
#TeamIce
ROUND 1 MATCH 1: To kick of
#MinCup2019
it’s the battle of “But is it really a mineral?” for
#OPAL
vs
#ICE
.
Which of these contentious contenders will get your vote? You have 24hrs to vote, lobby & debate.
#MinCup2021
was our biggest yet with 104,248 votes cast since September 1. That’s over 316,000 votes since we started
#MinCup2017
!
Of 31 matches, 5 were decided by fewer than 50 votes. The final came down to a margin of just 9 votes.
In
#MinCup
and in life, your voice matters!
@big_zircon
, what the--
With billions of years to plot, it appears
#Zircon
is done waiting and hijacked the
#MinCup2011
finals.
Please wait while we attempt to bribe it with a nice polish to relinquish the crown to the rightful mineral.
16 days until
#MinCup2019
!
In 2017,
#olivine
was crowned champion.
In 2018,
#garnet
took the glory.
When the minerals fly in September, will an old favourite wrestle away the title? Or will a new contender emerge victorious?
#MinCup2020
FINALS
#Magnetite
vs
#Corundum
It’s been a month of voting, many times down to the last minute. Both contestants have more than earned their place, but only one can be our 2020 Champion.
Vote, campaign, recruit, & share!
But wait, what's this?
Is it... is it a new contender for the very last match of Round 1?!
It is!
#Zircon
, accidentally left of the original bracket for absolutely no reason, has demanded the right to battle for the championship of
#MinCup2020
!!
Well, that's new.
ROUND 1 MATCH 8
It’s a silica showdown of
#Quartz
vs
#Opal
!
It’s a classic crystal vs an amorphous exception, a utilitarian beauty vs a precious gem, the staple silica vs its hydrated kin. Both beloved for their beauty and variety, but only one continues in
#MinCup2022
!
Vote!
Thank you all for your votes, your campaigns, your spectacular art, your wild recruiting efforts, and your fascinating science.
Every year, we learn new things during
#MinCup
. You’re all spectacular!
#MinCup2021
FINALS
#Quetzalcoatlite
vs
#Tourmaline
This is it, the moment you've been waiting for. For the past month you've been voting and eliminating minerals, and you've now whittled it down to two: a newcomer and a collector's favorite.
Defend your champion, and vote!
ITS FINALLY HERE!!! its
#MinCup2019Final
Day.... but as many of you are aware the twittersphere is having a tough morning! to give twitter time to sort itself out the
#MinCup2019Final
between
#IceMin
and
#Quartz
will launch at 1600 BST. Get yourself prepped its gonna be huge!
SEMIFINAL 1: this match needs no hyping up from us but today you chose between:
the 2018 runner-up, the winter queen -
#ICEMIN
and the 2017 champion - the green monster -
#OLIVINE
You have 24hrs to vote for who u want in the
#MinCup2019Final
That was our closest match of the
#MinCup2021
season so far! Both our contenders fought hard, but only one can continue.
After 3,400 votes, please congratulate
#Cinnabar
for winning with 0.6% (that's approximately just 20±3 votes!)
Goodbye,
#Pyroxene
. You are loved.
ROUND 1 MATCH 3
Bold and bright is the theme for toys
#MinCup2022
match! It's vivid orange
#Wulfenite
vs the iconic blue
#Sodalite
.
Both are gorgeous and have unique features, but one must triumph as the other falls.
Get your photos and arguments ready, it's time to vote!
ROUND 1 MATCH 2
It's the battle between newcomer
#Coffinite
and Mineral Cup favorite
#Quartz
. Will name recognition prevail or will curiosity win out?
Defend your champions, and vote!
Last call for mineral contender nominations for 2020!
Remember with the updated rules, we need individual named minerals (NOT groups!), so this is the perfect chance to get your favs in the running.
Bracket will be released in the next week.
ROUND 1 MATCH 15:
It’s a showdown between amorphous
#Opal
and salty
#Halite
! Who will be selected and who will be left behind?
(And yes, opal is on the official IMA mineral list.)
ROUND 1 MATCH 2:
It’s the bubbly
#Calcite
facing off against the plagioclase feldspar
#Albite
!
Both are much-beloved, but only one can continue in
#MinCup2020
. Campaign for your fav & get your votes in!
Much of what we learned about
#Quetzalcoatlite
during the competition isn’t in mineral guide books. Browse amazing threads by experts on the hashtag!
📷 Brent Thorne (FOV 2mm), Wojciech Siemy, Marko Burkhardt (FOV 2mm), Jerry A. Baird (FOV 1.45mm)
ROUND 3 MATCH 3
An unstoppable force versus an immovable object! Will
#Serpentine
weather through the other's defense, or will
#Zircon
stay strong?
Defend your favorite, and vote!
For many of us (including the volunteers!), we’d never heard of
#Quetzalcoatlite
before
#MinCup2021
started.
Our Champion is one of more than 5,000 minerals officially recognized by International Mineralogical Association (IMA).
📷 Christian Rewitzer (field of view (FOV) 2mm)
ROUND 1 MATCH 16
It's a 3-way battle between white olivine
#Forsterite
, classic
#Quartz
, and time lord
#Zircon
!
Which has your vote?
#Forsterite
of the mantle's depths;
#Quartz
with its gems of Amethyst, Citrine, & Agate, or the sturdy
#Zircon
? You have 24 hours to decide!
THE BRACKET IS READY!!
After recruiting
#MinCup21
’s strongest contenders & pouring through your nominations, we have our lineup for
#MinCup22
.
Voting starts September 1st!
Congratulations,
#Calcite
! We’ll see you in
#MinCup23
Round 2.
That’s 2 years in a row that
#Opal
fought a tough battle in the opening rounds. You did beautifully, mineraloid. Now it’s time to rest.
ROUND 1 MATCH 3: Can 2018’s 20th-place
#PYROXENE
overtake the former 3rd-place
#TOURMALINE
? It’s an all-new cup with a whole new crowd to sway to your side for
#MinCup2019
.
Share neat science, lure in bystanders, and may the best mineral win!
In a clash of the titans, neither went down easy in our highest-turnout match in
#MinCup
history.
At the last moment, classic crystalline
#quartz
washed hydrated
#opal
into an amorphous puddle. We’ll be seeing less iridescence but more iconic prisms for
#MinCup2022
Round 2.
The minerals of Earth recorded climate over the eons. While rocks will survive whatever comes next, humans might not.
#MinCup2019
is on hold today for
#GlobalClimateStrike
. Go make our future better.
ANNOUNCEMENT : in solidarity with
#ClimateStrike
around the world,
#MinCup2019
will be suspended until 21 Sept 2019. We'll be switching our phones off and doing our bit.
Our first
#MinCup2022
poll will open at 12:00 GMT on September 1, 2022
That’s noon in the UK
8am Eastern North America / Centro Mexico / Ecuador
8pm Western Australia / Philippines / Taiwan
Antarctica, you’re on your own figuring out what time that is.
6720 votes in, breaking the previous record of 6348 votes in a single match (2019 finals Ice vs Quartz).
#IceMin
once again takes the win with a 1.2%, leaving
#Olivine
out of the rest of the Mineral Cup.
An astonishing development this year was how
#MinCup
has grown beyond just geoscientists!
Rocks are for everyone, and we’re so glad you share our passion for them.
ROUND 1 MATCH 13:
It's all about the G:
#Gypsum
or
#Gold
?
The evaporite sulfate takes on the native element. Both are relatively soft, both have extensive industrial uses, but only one can continue in
#MinCup2020
.
It’s
#MinCup23
Round 1 Match 2!
It’s heavy-hitters
#Cinnabar
v
#Quartz
. We know you love them both, but you need to decide. One moves to Round 2. The other is eliminated, never to be seen in
#MinCup
again (unless it wins a future play-in round).
VOTE!
Round 3 Match 1. Welcome to the Quarter Finals! It is the heavyweights
#IceMin
vs
#Plagioclase
who will emerge victorious? You have 24hrs to vote for your preferred mineral. Good luck and may the odds be in forever in your favour!
#MinCup2019
It’s time to update our rules for
#MinCup2021
!
We’ll vote on keeping, editing or discarding last year’s rule changes now that we’ve experienced what they’re like during
#MinCup2020
.
Do you have requests or suggestions for what we should do differently this year?
Correction:
#IceMin
pulled through with some last minute votes, making
#Zircon
's lead just 0.2% above Ice... That's ~14 votes making the difference for Zircon's win!
In a last minute turn of events,
#Zircon
melts
#IceMin
's chances at a double championship with a 0.4% lead (~26 votes) and moves on to the next round.
ROUND 1 MATCH 10
It’s a supersaturated matchup as bladed blue
#Kyanite
takes on blobby green
#Malachite
!
Both are beloved classics, minerals familiar from childhood rock collections, lab class, and jewellery boxes. But only one can continue in
#MinCup2022
!
You cast 91,139 total votes during
#MinCup2022
to crown
#Fluorite
.
The highest-turnout match was Round 1 Match 8
#Quartz
vs
#Opal
with 5,385 votes cast.
The closest margin was Round 1 Match 2
#Jadeite
vs
#Fluorapatite
, decided by under 0.2% or approximately 1 to 5 votes.
SEMI-FINALS ROUND 1
Welcome to the semi-finals of
#MinCup2021
! Round 1 would be a battle of snakes, as
#Serpentine
with its truly snakelike appearance goes up against
#Quetzalcoatlite
, whose color matches its namesake's feathers in art.
Choose your slithering mineral, and vote!
What happens next:
We’ll crunch the numbers to identify our Bottom 8 who are cut from next year’s cup, then take a moment to breathe!
We’ll be back in a few months to review what you thought of this year’s rule updates, and start soliciting candidates for
#MinCup2021
.
At
#GSA2019
and feeling awkward networking?
Ask who they’re supporting in
#MinCup2019
and why!
They’ve never heard of Mineral Cup? It’s their lucky day as you introduce them to the joy and drama.
Who will join legends
#Olivine
(2017),
#Garnet
(2018),
#IceMin
(2019),
#Magnetite
(2020) &
#Quetzalcoatlite
(2021)?
Use any criteria you desire from practical to fanciful, scientific to aesthetic, consistent or capricious.
Argue, persuade, campaign, recruit, and VOTE!!
ROUND 1 MATCH 3
Another old-timer vs newcomer match! This time, it's a battle between the Mexican native
#Quetzalcoatlite
and the ubiquitous
#Plagioclase
.
Pick your champion, present your arguments and vote!
ROUND 2 MATCH 1: we are straight into the next round - the business end of the tournament. Up first we have
#ICEmineral
Vs
#PYROXENE
. where does your hear lie? you have 24 hrs to vote for which you would like to see in the QF of
#MinCup2019
. cant wait to see your pics/facts/gifs!
Despite claiming to know nothing about minerals,
@scarlett_jazmin
handled most of the starts & ends of polls.
Her fav moment was that first potential of a sudden death round between
#garnet
&
#plagioclase
showing no mineral was safe, & she still wishes
#zircon
made it further.
Slow and steady wins the race, as
#Fluorapatite
nibbled away at
#Jadeite
’s initial lead to secure a win by a margin of just 0.2% (~7 votes).
Goodbye, imperial mistress of subduction! Welcome to
#MinCup2022
Round 2, shiny queen of shark teeth and fertilizer!
SEMI-FINALS MATCH 2
#Corundum
is red.
#Fluorite
is blue.
Who goes to the final match?
That's up to you.
This finalist will be extremely colorful as both minerals are a rainbow of hues!
With the updated
#MinCupRules
, all contenders are individual named minerals from the official IMA list (). No groups!
New this year:
All former winners are sitting out the competition, resting up for a mini Champions Cup in the off season.
“Hey, what is Mineral Cup anyway?”
Having a difficult time describing your September activities to others? This might help!
Thank you to
@notkevinhurler
for the beautiful write-up!
This tellurium oxysalt was found in mining waste in 1973.
Researchers are still unravelling
#Quetzalcoatlite
. It’s tiny, blue, soft, brittle, & heavy. It’s often spiky but sometimes crusty. Beyond that, we have much to learn!
📷 Robert Meyer & John Dagenais (FOV 1.3mm)
Tick-took, tick-tick, it’s time to break your heart with
#MinCup23
Round 1 Match 3:
#Fluorapatite
v
#Zircon
!
It’s shiny shark teeth vs the Time Lord. You have 24 hours.
Vote:
Check results:
We have our rules set for the coming year! Now we need contenders.
With a 50% turnover rate, we need a whole lot of newbies to compete.
Which new minerals should join us for
#MinCup2021
?
ROUND 1 MATCH 7
Will it be for the (mostly) green rock-forming mineral group or for the bright red mercury ore? Choose between
#Pyroxene
and
#Cinnabar
.
Present your arguments and vote!
#Kaolinite
with the KO!
The utilitarian clay swallows up black tourmaline
#Schorl
, so our workhorse moves on to
#MinCup2022
Round 2.
And what a turnout! With 4.1k+ votes we beat the total from
#MinCup2021
's semifinals! Let's see if we can beat last year's finale? 😉
Keeper of the Do Not Lick mineral list
@mikamckinnon
is delighted by lickable
#IceMin
’s victory, but is salty she didn’t get her ice vs
#halite
showdown.
Her fav moment was when the voice of
#StevenUniverse
’s Amethyst joined the fray for
#quartz
ROUND 1 MATCH 8
No time to recover,
#MinCup2021
marches on! It's the mineraloid
#Opal
against the elemental
#Sulphur
. The contentious veteran facing off against a newcomer.
Argue, campaign, decide, and VOTE!
ROUND 1 MATCH 9
No grudges for newbies! Contemplate unusual formation for deep mantle
#Davemaoite
vs bat poop
#Ammineite
.
Will it be the mineral that hides within diamonds or the one that transforms guano into bright blue crystals?
Dig in, get weird, make your pick, and vote!