Mineral Collection Images

My Mineral Collection, Systematic Sorosilicates Page

These are my sorosilicates. Sorosilicates are the next step upwards in structural complexity - two orthosilicate tetrahedrons sharing one oxtygen atom (Si2O7) and are commonly referred to as pyrosilicates. Some sorosilicates can include nesosilicate-type single tetrahedrons and more complex sorosilicates can have a triple (Si3O10) tetrahedron structure. Most of the sorosilicates are rare.
Sorosilicates on Other Pages
See kinoite on my copper minerals page. Tanzanite and thulite manganoan (clino)zoisite are on my gemstones page. Also, see hancockite and kentrolite on my lead images page. Hardystonite and hemimorphite are on my zinc minerals page. Gittinsite and noelbensonite are on my inosilicates page.
Specimens on This Page (links take you to either the first or only specimen)
ardennite bafertisite, bertrandite cebollite, clinozoisite (and variety manganoan clinozoisite) epidote (and varieties nunderite, tawmawite and withamite) fersmanite, fresnoite gehlenite hubeite ilvaite (and variety breislakite) jennite, jinshajiangite, julgoldite lamprophyllite, lavenite, lawsonite, leucophanite macfallite, manganvesuvianite, meliphanite, mosandrite, mukhinite niocalite, normandite orientite piemontite, pumpellyite rosenbuschite, rosenhahnite saneroite, shuiskite, suolunite, sursassite thortveitite vesuvianite (and varieties ambosellite, cyprine, chrome vesuvianite, and mangan vesuvianite) wiluite, wöhlerite zunyite

35 Rows
Ardennite Ardennite's a very complex manganese aluminum hydroxysilicate - this miniature with yellow-orange slender prisms on a quartz matrix is from Salmchateau, Ardennes Massif, Luxembourg, Belgium. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!	Bafertisite A miniature of tiny beige bafertisite (a barium iron titanium manganese hydroxysilicate) splinters in granite from the Martin Marietta Fountain Quarry, near Fountain, Pitt County, North Carolina - one of only two places in the U.S. to find it. Thanks to Steve & Laurie Adams' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Bertrandite This specimen of white bertrandite (beryllium hydroxysilicate), pink rhodochrosite, and purple fluorite comes from Kazakhstan. Bertrandite's a fairly important beryllium ore. Thanks to Roger Hoek's (ARCH Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 2
Bertrandite Small white crystals of bertrandite on smoky quartz with pyrite from the Kara-Oba tungsten-moly deposit in the Betpakdala Deser,t Kazakhstan. Thanks to Darrel Merke's auction on eBay for the specimen and image!	Bertrandite An old rare miniature of tabular transparent bertrandites on matrix from Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine. Thanks to Frank P. Butler's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 3
Cebollite A micro of white fibrous cebollite (a calcium aluminum hydroxysilicate) on matrix from the Turii alkaline Massif, Turii Cape, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast', Russia. I don't know what the tiny crystal is. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Clinozoisite A nice thumbnail of clinozoisite from Trumbull, Connecticut. Thanks to Don Goodell's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Cuspidine Tiny deep-blue cuspidine (a calcium hydroxyfluorosilicate) crystals (larger image, bottom) in matrix comprise this micro from the San Vito Quarry, Vesuvio, Napoli Province, Campania, Italy. Most references omit the hydroxyl cation - leaving it in corresponds to the unconfirmed varietal custerite. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the photo!
Row 4
Epidote Four beautiful specimens of deep green epidote (an iron calcium hydroxysilicate) in matrix from California. Epidote is by far the most common sorosilicate - it occurs through metamorphism of both sedimentary and igneous rocks and by alteration of numerous minerals. Thanks to Frank P. Butler's auction on eBay for the specimens!	Epidote A somewhat gemmy "faden" variety of epidote from Gilgit, Pakistan. Thanks to Graeber & Himes' table at the 2000 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!	Epidote Very nice epidote on quartz from the Castrovirreyna District, Huancaveleca, Peru. Thanks to Jennings "Beau" Gordon's (Jendon Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 5
Epidote This small cabinet piece from Lac Falin (Lanzo Valley), Torino Province, Piedmont, Italy has gemmy yellow-green epidote crystals on matrix. Thanks to Erik Berean's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Epidote Sharp dark green epidote crystals with smoky quartz on albite from the Santa Teresa Mountains, Graham County, Arizona. Thanks to David H. Garske's (MINERALS and MORE) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Epidote A golden epidote crystal from Val D'Osta, Italy. Thanks to Graeber & Himes' table at the Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!
Row 6
Epidote Glossy green euhedral crystals of epidote on peach microcline comprise this small cabinet specimen from the famous Calumet Iron Mine, near Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado. Thanks to Don Bray & Robert Bressler's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Epidote Another beautiful gemmy parallel cluster of epidotes from Gilgit. Thanks to Graeber & Himes' table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!	Epidote A beautiful miniature of epidote sprays and quartz on matrix from Albatera, (near Calpe), Alicante, Valencia, Spain. Thanks to Lynricia Beavers' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 7
Epidote A beautiful miniature of epidote from Jmilchil (Imilchil), Anti-Atlas Mts, Morocco. Thanks to Carlos Pareja's (PAREJA MINERALES) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Epidote A old small cabinet specimen of epidote from Baja California, Mexico. Thanks to Frank P. Butler's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Epidote An excellent miniature of epidote crystals on matrix from Nascio, Italy. Thanks to Marcelo Behar's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 8
Epidote A large cabinet carpet of pistachio-green epidote from the Maryland Materials Quarry in North East, Cecil County, Maryland. This is the color that gives epidote its varietal name, pistachite. Thanks to Keith Robertson's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Epidote A miniature of sharp equant deep-green epidote crystals from the Calumet Mine, Turret District, Chaffee County, Salida, Colorado. It has a Diversified Minerals, Salt lake City, Utah, $45 label with it. Thanks to Scott M. Lewis's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Epidote A beautiful miniature of parallel brown epidote crystals from Gilgit, Pakistan. some of them have hair-like inclusions and red tips. Thanks to Mohammad Arif Jan's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 9
Epidote An excellent miniature of pistachio-green micro epidote crystals in vugs from Kearsarge, Houghton County, Michigan. Thanks to North Star Minerals's table at the 2004 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!	Epidote A beautiful small cabinet piece of gemmy pistachio-green epidote crystals on matrix. Thanks to Justin Scott's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Epidote An excellent small cabinet specimen of epidote clusters on matrix with minor quartz. Thanks to L. Yang's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 10
Epidote A beautiful polished miniature of massive epidote from the Central Ontario area. Thanks to Marcia Klein's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Epidote, var. Nunderite A small cabinet polished specimen of epidote in tan andalusitic quartz. This combination is called "nunderite" - after its type locality of Nundle, Parry County, New South Wales, Australia. Thanks to Anna Kitta's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Epidote, var. Tawmawite Tawmawite's the name given to epidote containing between 7% and 11% chromium oxide. This miniature comes from the only U.S. locality, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut. The color matches exactly that of the widely-used pigment, chromium III oxide. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 11
Epidote, var. Withamite Withamite's a reddish-purple variety (manganese-colored) of epidote - the closeup of this specimen from the varietal type locality of Glencoe (Glen Coe), Argyllshire, Strathclyde, Scotland, shows some clean individual crystals. It's named after its discoverer, Henry Witham of Glencoe and is similar to piemontite. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Fersmanite A fine rare miniature of dark brown fersmanite (a complex calcium niobium titanium silicate) crystals in matrix from the type locality of the Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Thanks to Martin Gale's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Fresnoite A busy miniature of yellow fresnoite (barium titanosilicate), white radiating acicular macdonaldite, reddish taramellite crystals and brown pellyite on a sanbornite matrix from Rush Creek, Fresno County, California. Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 12
Gehlenite A miniature of massive gehlenite (a calcium aluminum aluminosilicate) from the Crestmore Quarry, Riverside County, California. Thanks to Tony Nikischer's Excalibur Mineral Company auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Gehlenite A miniature of gehlenite crystals in matrix from possibly the type locality of the Monzoni Mts, Val di Fassa, Trento Province, Italy. Thanks to Vince Olsovsky's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Hubeite Hubeite's a brand new mineral (the IMA approved the name in Jan. 2001) from the Hubei Province in China. It's a triclinic calcium manganese (hence the color) iron hydroxysilicate found in association with (as here) pyrite, quartz, apophyllite, (and calcite and inesite). Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image!
Row 13
Hubeite The other association for hubeite is inesite - this inesite bowtie is also from Huangxi, Hubei Province, China. Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen and the closeup images!	Hubeite A cluster of (hundreds of) tiny hubeite crystals on (and in) quartz from Ezhou, in Hubei Province, China. In this specimen the hubeite color ranges from amber through red to brown. Ther's also a few small apophyllites present. Thanks to Lee Arbach's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Ilvaite This specimen of ilvaite (Ilva, the Latin name of Elba Island) on matrix is from South Mountain. Owyhee County, Idaho. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!
Row 14
Ilvaite A beautiful single terminated (closeup) ilvaite (another iron calcium hydroxysilicate) crystal from the Verchniy Mine, Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia. Thanks to Jeff & Gloria's table at the 2000 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!	Ilvaite This quartz-encrusted ilvaite (labeled, synonymously, lievrite) is probably also from the Verchniy Mine, Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia.	Ilvaite A small cluster of ilvaites peeks out out from the top of this ball of frosted quartz needles also from the South Mountain Mine in Idaho. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!
Row 15
Ilvaite, var. Breislakite Breislakite is the varietal name of fibrous ilvaite. It was discovered in 1817 by G.B. Brocchi, was named for the geologist Scipione Breislak, born in Rome in 1748 and an expert in the volcanic products of the Phlegraean Fields, Roccamonfina and Mt. Vesuvius. In 1902 it was found to be identical with ilvaite, but the name lingers on for this habit. This thumbnail of fuzzy dark-brown breislakite is from Mt. Vesuvius, Italy. Thanks to Sue Silver's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Ilvaite, var. Breislakite A fascinating small-cabinet geode-like specimen containing clusters of dark-green breislakite and other minerals from the Cava di Pozzolana, Cocolle, Italy. Ex: Donald L. Schuder Collection (Purdue University). Thanks to David Scuder's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Jennite This is a nice thumbnail of fibrous white jennite (a hydrated calcium hydroxysilicate) intergrown with thaumasite from the type locality of the Crestmore Quarries, Riverside County, California. Thanks to Michael Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 16
Jinshajiangite A thumbnail of reddish-brown jinshajiangite (a complex iron manganese titanium barium silicate) needles with black magnesio-arfvedsonite on matrix from Norra Kärr, Småland, Sweden. It forms an incomplete series with perraultite and surkhobite. Various references classify jinshajiangite with different silicate structures. Thanks to Ingo Drescher's auction on eBay for the specimen and image!	Julgoldite-(Fe+++) An impressive large cabinet specimen of deep-green julgoldite-(Fe+++) (a hydrated iron calcium aluminum silicate) with a few apophyllite crystals from Jalgaon, India. The iron here is completely ferric; julgoldite-(Fe++) is partly ferrous. Thanks to Superb Minerals India's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Lamprophyllite An excellent miniature of translucent brown lath-like lamprophyllite (a complex strontium titanium barium sorsilicate) crystals in matrix from Mt Rasvumchorr, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. It forms an incomplete series with barytolamprophyllite where barium predominates, and nabalamprophyllite where sodium replaces some of the barium and titanium. Thanks to Martin Gale's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 17
Låvenite A miniature of reddish brown to blackish crystals of låvenite (a complex sodium zirconium hydroxysilicate) frozen in a nepheline syenite.from the type locality of Låven, Langesundsfjorden, Norway. Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 18
Lawsonite in Glaucophane Fine layers of peach lawsonite (a calcium aluminum hydroxysilicate) and blue-gray glaucophane (an inosilicate) form this schist from Tres Pinos, San Benito County, California. Lawsonite's dimorphous with parthéite, and may form incomplete series with hennomartinite (its strontium manganese analog) and noelbensonite (its barium manganese analog). Thanks to Wayne Bloechl's (GeoJoe's) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Lawsonite Lavender lawsonite litters a chlorite schist matrix in this large miniature from near Reed Station, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California. Thanks to Tom Lettier and Ken Balthazor's (The California Crystal Connection) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Lawsonite A small cabinet specimen of sharp lawsonite crystals in glaucophane also from Reed Station. This specimen dates from the early 1950s - there's now a housing development on this site, so that's the last of the lawsonites from the type locality. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images!
Row 19
Leucophanite An excellent group of light-yellow leucophanite (a complex sodium calcium beryllium silicate) crystals on matrix from the Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint Hilaire, Rouville County, Québec, Canada. They fluoresce a beautiful bright pink under longwave UV. This thumbnail was collected in September 2003 by Jonathan Levinger. Thanks to Jonathan Levinger's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Macfallite The brownish-orange clusters are macfallite, a calcium manganese akuminum silicate, on a matrix of black orientite (a calcium manganese "triple" sorosilicate), grayish-brown braunite (a mixed manganese and silicon oxide), and quartz. This rare manganese mineral association comes from Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County Michigan. Thanks to Alexander Falster's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Macfallite The (black) macfallite crystals are much more visible in this miniature from the type locality of the Manganese Mine, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, Michigan. Thanks to Mike Basal's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 20
Meliphanite Light yellow massive meliphanite (a complex calcium sodium beryllium silicate in matrix with black annite (mica) from the type locality of Langesundsfjord, Vestfold, Norway. Thanks to Dr. Wilfried Steffens' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Mosandrite A miniature of mosandrite crystals in aegirine in a nepheline syenite matrix from Kringlerne, Ilimaussaq, Greenland. The pink mineral (larger image, bottom) may be eudialyte, for which Ilimaussaq is the type locality. Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Mukhinite A small cabinet specimen of dendritic growth of tiny black mukhinite (epidote where vanadium replaces part of the aluminum) crystals in matrix from either Kazakhstan or Russia. Thanks to Ruth Winfield's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 21
Niocalite Tiny tabular yellow crystals (larger image, bottom right, circled) of niocalite (a calcium niobium silicate) in a calcite and magnetite matrix comprise this miniature from the type locality of the Québec Columbium Property in Oka, Deux-Montagnes County, Québec, Canada. The larger image (top right) shows what may be columbite. Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Normandite A miniature of radiant rust-colored normandite (a complex manganese calcium titanium niobium silicate) on matrix from Khibiny, Kola, Russia. It's the calcium titanium dominant analog of lavenite. Thanks to Kevin Ward at the The Mineral Gallery for the specimen and the image!	Piemontite A beautiful miniature of bright red piemontite (or piedmontite - a calcium manganese hydroxysilicate) in matrix from Culp Ridge (Iron Mountain), Adams County, Pennsylvania. Thanks to Vince's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 22
Piemontite A pretty miniature of piemontite rosettes on matrix from Langesundsfjorden, Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway. Thanks to Alexander Falster's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Pumpellyite Pumpellyite's a calcium aluminosilicate with varying amounts of iron, magnesium, and manganese. There are five pumpellyites (Al, Fe2+, Fe3+, Mg, and Mn2+) - I don't know which one this is. These beautiful fiery green rosettes and clusters with quartz on matrix are from the early 2002 find in Sichuan Province, China - they may also be related to the Luli Mountain, Tibetian ones. These pumpellyites may also be mislabeled epidotes. Thanks to Bob Patak at Shadyside Mining for the specimen!	Rosenbuschite Tan laths of rosenbuschite (a complex calcium zirconium silicate) in schist from Norra Kärr, Gränna, Jönköping Småland, Sweden. Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 23
Rosenhahnite An excellent small-cabinet specimen of beige rosenhahnite (a calcium hydroxytrisilicate) on matrix from probably the type locality of the Russian River, near Cloverdale, Mendocino County, California. Some references show a small amount of carbonate in the composition. It has a Nature's Trasures (Torrance, CA) tag. Thanks to Tony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Saneroite A beautiful micro of bright-red sameroite (a manganese sodium iron hydroxyvanadatosilicate) crystals on matrix from the co-type locality of the Molinello Mine, Graveglia Valley, Ne, Genova Province, Liguria, Italy. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the photo!

Shuiskite A miniature of very rare shuiskite (a hydrated calcium chromium silicate and the chromium analog of pumpellyite) with uvarovite on a chromite matrix from the Saranovskii Mine, Ural Mountains, Russia. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 24

Shuiskite A micro of shuiskite from the Saranovskii Mine - the crystals here are more clumped together. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Suolunite Until 1997, suolunite, a hydrated calcium hydroxysilicate, was only found as small grains. Then, one pocket at the LAB Black Lake Mine in Black Lake, Mégantic County, Québec, Canada was found which contained only around 40 pieces of crystalline suolunite - this thumbnail fragment is from that now decommissioned collection of 40 pieces. Thanks to Jonathan Levinger's auction on eBay for the specimen and the Arkenstone link!

Sursassite This small miniature of reddish-brown sursassite (a hydrated manganese aluminum hydroxysilicate) sprays on matrix is from the Strategic Manganese Mine, Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. Thanks to Jan Garland's (Fine Rocks) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 25  

Thortveitite An excellent, somewhat oriented miniature cluster of thortveitite (scandium yttrium silicate) crystals, certainly from Iveland, Norway - maybe even from the type locality of Ljoslandsknipan. It forms incomplete series with Keiviite-(Y) and Keiviite-(Yb). Thortveitite's the principal ore of scandium. Thanks to Robert Omestad's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

  Row 26

Vesuvianite This rich brown vesuvianite is from the Poudrette Quarruy, Mont St-Hilaire, Montreal, Québec, Canada. Thanks to Daniel Comtois at Daniel Comtois - Québec Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite More Canadian vesuvianite - this beautiful light green one's from the famous Jeffrey Mine near Asbestos, Québec, Canada. Thanks to Doug Wahl's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite Almost a cubic inch of golden brown vesuvianite crystal from Lake Jaco, Coahuila, Mexico. Thanks to Bill Kohout's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 27

Vesuvianite Vesuvianite's often called idocrase, especially by jewelers when it occurs in a massive translucent habit as in this polished slab from Pulga, Butte County, California. Thanks to Bill Awald's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Vesuvianite Beautiful light green prisms of vesuvianite from Eden Mills, Lamoille County, Vermont. Thanks to Dan Wienrich's Dan & Jill Weinrich auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite Small but classic tetragonal dipyramidal crystals of golden-brown vesuvianite on matrix from Lake Jaco, Coahuila, Mexico. It has a Dale Minerals International label with it. Thanks to Wayne Rudolph's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 28

Vesuvianite A miniature of pale yellow-green vesuvianites on matrix from the Jeffrey Mine. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Vesuvianite A miniature of dark brown vesuvianites on matrix (collected in the 1990s) from Val D'Aosta, Italy. Thanks to Jonathan Levinger's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite A large thumbnail of pink and tan vesuvianites from the Jeffrey Quarry, Asbestos, Québec, Canada. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 29

Vesuvianite An excellent big textbook brown vesuvianite crystal from the 2003 find in Boumia, Merloden, Morocco. Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Vesuvianite A nice miniature of bright vesuvianites collected in 1975 from the type locality of Monte Somma, Vesuvius, Naples Province, Campania, Italy - the larger image (bottom center and right) show a couple unidentified minerals. Thanks to Alessandro Genazzani's (ItalianMinerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Vesuvianite This miniature of vesuvianite crystals on matrix may also be from the type locality - they're from somewhere in Italy. Thanks to Lynda McDowell's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 30

Vesuvianite Another large vesuvianite crystal - this miniature was collected in 1973 from Chute Prospect, Casco, Cumberland County, Maine. Thanks to Tom Klinepeter's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite This vesuvianite thumbnail is from a railroad cut near Minerva, Essex County, New York. I've been told that this may be a new vesuvianite species. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Vesuvianite A thumbnail of gemmy yellow vesuvianite from the Jeffrey Mine. Thanks to Walter Mroch's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 31

Vesuvianite Another Jeffrey Mine miniature - lime green on one side, lavender on the other. The larger image (bottom) shows a crystal that's both colors. There won't be any new specimens like this - the mine's closed and flooded. Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Vesuvianite A beautiful miniature of dark yellow gemmy vesuvianite and deep-green clinochlore on matrix from Felskinn, Saas Fee, Wallis, Switzerland. Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite A miniature of light-yellow vesuvianite crystals on matrix from Darburuq, Somaliland. Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 32

Vesuvianite An old (the box has 15¢ written on it) miniature of dark brown vesuvianite crystals on matrix from Stafford, Maine.

Vesuvianite, var Ambosellite Ambosellite's the preliminary name give to this new (2004) color-change variety of vesuvianite - the darker green crystals may be a chromian subvariety. Ambosellite exhibits a green to orange color change (somewhat visible by comparing my photos with Anthony's (larger image, top vs. bottom) - a better color-change image is here. The upper right image also shows a great amount of fire. Ambosellite has been XRD-analyzed by CSIRO (Perth) and found to be vesuvianite (originally thought to be of the epidote family) with typical values for S.G., R.I., and dispersion. This miniature of ambosellite on blue calcite on limestone comes from tanzanite country in Africa. Thanks to Anthony Leach's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! Thanks also to Martin Read for the compositional update!

Vesuvianite, var. Chrome-Vesuvianite An old miniature of chrome vesuvianite from the Jeffrey Mine, Asbestos, Québec, Canada. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen!

Row 33

Vesuvianite, var. Chrome-Vesuvianite A miniature of chrome vesuvianite from the 2002 find at the Jeffrey Mine. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite, var. Cyprine A pair of cyprine (or cuprian vesuvianite) thumbnails from the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan - their color is due to trace amounts of copper. Thanks to Frank P. Butler's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vesuvianite, var. Manganoan Vesuvianite This lavender vesuvianite is also from the Jeffrey Mine. This locale is arguably the type locality for this manganese-rich variety. Thanks to Walter Mroch's (The Gem and Mineral Exploration Company) auction for the specimen and the image!

Row 34

Wiluite Wiluite's one of the relatively new (1990s) minerals - this cluster comes from the type locality, the Wilui River basin in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), northeast Siberia, Russia. It's isostructural with the vesuvianite group and is associated with wollastonite and olive-green grossulars (viluites). Thanks to Jim Keough's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Wöhlerite A thumbnail of brwonish-red wöhlerite (woehlerite, a complex calcium zirconium niobium silicate) with an unidentified bl;ack mineral in matrix (probably) from the Saga I Quarry, Strandåsen, (Tvedalen), Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway. Thanks to Ingo Drescher's auction on eBay for the specimen!

  Row 35

Zunyite An excellent miniature of zunyite tetrahedra (some with red centers (larger image, closeups) from oriented hematite needles) on a diaspore matrix from the farm Doornfontein M82, northwest of Postmasburg, Cape Province, South Africa. This specimen was collected in the early 1950s by George Burnham of Burminco in Monrovia. Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Zunyite A rare small-cabinet specimen of brownish-gray zunyite (a complex aluminum hydroxysilicate) octahedra in matrix from the Big Bertha Mine, Quartzsite, La Paz County, Arizona. Thanks to Stephen Hernly's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Zunyite A nice miniature of sulfide-included zunyite crystals in diaspore from the type locality of the Zuni Mine, Anvil Mountain, West of Silverton, San Juan County, Colorado. It was collected by Robert Stoufer in 1992 and has a $60 tag. Thanks to Robert Stoufer's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

maintained by: Alan Guisewite

Last Update 5 Jul 2008