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Lapis lazuli has been mined for centuries from a locality still in use today in the remote mountain valley called Kokcha, Afghanistan.

First mined 6000 years ago, the rock was transported to Egypt and present day Iraq and later to Europe where it was used in jewelry and for ornamental stone.Europeans even ground down the rock into an expensive powdered pigment for paints called "ultramarine"Today ultramarine is manufactured artificially.

Although now not the only source of lapis, the source in Afghanistan still produces the finest quality material.

Lazurite is a member of the of minerals whose chemistries are close to that of the alkali content, are called feldspathoids.

As a result or more correctly as a function of the fact, they are found in silica poor rocks containing other silica poor minerals

If quartz were present when the melt was crystallizing, it would react with any feldspathoids and form a feldspar., Localities that have feldspathoids are few.

The name lazurite is often confused with the bright blue phosphate mineral <b><a href="/minerals/phosphat/lazulite/lazulite.htm">lazulite</a></b>.

However the two minerals can not be confused with each other identification wise because of lazulite's typical vitreous luster and good crystal habit