Jasper

Jasper is a dense, fine-grained sedimentary mineral. It gets its colour from red, brown and black oxides of manganese and other minerals. Jaspers can be uniform in colour or have a riband (striped), striated, orbicular (containing "eyes") or other pattern. In the Urals experts distinguish over 200 types of jasper that take their names from the places where they occur.

Orsk jasper has the widest variety of patterns formed by bands and irregular patches of yellow, brown, pink, red, bright green, grey-green or black colour with white, red and black veins. The majority of "landscape" and "fortification" jaspers with whimsical patterns come from the deposits in the vicinity of Orsk.