Rutile - TiO₂

Habit: Red, reddish-brown brown, yellow or black. Commonly prismatic, often slender to Acicular, striated. Rarely pyramidal or equant, also granular, massive, course to fine. Opaque, transparent in thin fragments, Adamantine-Metallic Luster.

Environment: A common high-temperature, high-pressure accessory mineral in igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks. Also common in aluminous rocks and in alpine type veins and fissures.

Etymology: Named from the Latin, rutilus, "red", for its common color

Titanium dioxide is the most widely used white pigment because of its brightness often used to whiten many food and drinks, such as skimmed milk, cookies and frosting. It is used in most sunscreens as a physical blocker because of its high refractive index, its strong UV light absorbing capabilities and its resistance to discoloration under ultraviolet light. It is even used to whiten your toothpaste!