Helenite , also known as Mount St. Helens obsidian , emerald obsidianite , and ruby obsidianite , is an artificial glass made from the fused volcanic rock dust from Mount St. Helens and marketed as a gemstone . Helenite was first created accidentally after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 . Workers from the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company were attempting to salvage equipment damaged after the volcanic eruption . Using acetylene torches , they noticed that the intense heat was melting the nearby volcanic ash and rock and turning it a greenish color . The silica , aluminium , iron , and trace amounts of chromium and copper present in the rocks and ash in the area , combined with the heat of the torches , transformed the volcanic particles into a compound that would be later commercially replicated as helenite
eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
Helenite