The stone was given its name by Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and naturalist, who discovered the stone along the shore line of the Dirillo River or Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης) in Sicily, sometime between the 4th and 3rd

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Agate minerals have the tendency to form on or within pre-existing rocks, creating difficulties in accurately determining their time of formation. Their

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Lace agate is a variety that exhibits a lace-like pattern with forms such as eyes, swirls, bands or zigzags. Blue lace agate is found in Africa and is especially hard. Crazy lace agate, typically found in Mexico, is often brightly colored with a complex pattern, demonstrating

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Respiratory diseases such as silicosis and higher incidence of tuberculosis among workers involved in the agate industry have been reported from India and China.

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• Topaz
• Opal
• List of minerals – List of minerals for which there are articles on Wikipedia

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• "Agates", School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (retrieved 27 December 2014).

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Industrial uses of agate exploit its hardness, ability to retain a highly polished surface finish and resistance to chemical attack. It has traditionally

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