I found this beautiful mineral specimen recently while exploring the historic Barossa Goldfields.

The most obvious thing about this mineral specimen is of course the gold but when I thought about it a little more I realised that symbolically the ironstone and quartz represented perhaps the real value.

Without iron the world would have been a very different place and without the silicon we may never had miraculous technologies that the microelectronics industry has created.

So what about the gold? Funnily enough gold is also a very important part of microelectronics and other industrial processes.

Put into perspective, this mineral specimen is a great symbol of our industrial, technological and aesthetic world.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Industrial Gemstone’, 15s f/11 ISO100 200mm