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My Mineral Collection, Miscellaneous Systematic Tungstates Page

These are my tungstates, a small but colorful (and economically important) group of minerals.
Tungstates on Other Pages
See cuprotungstite, lindgrenite, and szemicsite on my copper minerals page.

Also see crocoite, fornacite, stolzite, and wulfenite on my lead minerals page.

Tungstate Info
Molybdates and niobates also go here (Nickel-Strunz group 07.G) and I include the chromates in my collection here as well. Because the hubnerite-wolframite-ferberite crystal structure does NOT contain WO4 tetrahedra, these three minerals and other members of the wolframite group are now classified with the oxides.
Specimens on This Page
(links take you to either the first or only specimen)

6 Rows

Chromatite

An excellent miniature of yellow chromatite (calcium orthochromate) on calcite from the Jerusalem-Jericho road in the type locality of the Ma'aleh Adumim, Hatrurim formation, West Bank, Palestine.

Thanks to Tal Yariv's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Fergusonite-(Y)

A sliver of fergusonite (yttrium niobate) in matrix from Verona, Ontario, Canada. There are six different fergusonites - fergusonite-(Y) is from the Ontario area, so it's probably that. It's dimorphic with fergusonite-beta-(Y) and forms a series with formanite-(Y), its tantalum analog.

Thanks to Vince Olsovsky's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Fergusonite-(Y),
var. Risorite

A thumbnail of titaniferous fergusonite-(Y) (up to 5% TiO2) in matrix from (the type locality for this variety) the abandoned Gryting Feldspar Quarry at Gjerstad, near Risor, Aus-Agder, Norway. Ex: Mineral Zone (10/2006). Risorite also typically contains erbium and tantalum.

Thanks to David H. Garske's (MINERALS and MORE) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 2

Ferrimolybdite

Yellow acicular ferrimolybdite (iron molybdate octahydrate) on milky quartz from the Questa Molybdenum Mine, Questa, Taos County, New Mexico - there's also a molybdenite crystal on the right.

Thanks to Dan Wienrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen and the image!

Ferrimolybdite

An old (1970s) large thumbnail of yellow ferrimolybdite druse and seams with molybdenite in a zinnwaldite and quartz matrix from the California Mine, Mount Antero, Chaffee County, Colorado.

Thanks to Robert Stoufer's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Mendozavilite

Mendozavilite's a rare, complex sodium calcium magnesium iron chlorophosphomolybdate that usually occurs as orange crusts as in this specimen from the Rustler Mine, Tooele County, Utah - the yellower patches may be paramendozavilite, a similar mineral in which aluminum replaces the calcium and magnesium.

Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 3

Powellite

An excellent miniature of a sharp powellite (calcium molybdate) crystal from a quarry near Shirdi in the Pandulena Mountains, Nasik, Maharashtra, India. It forms an incomplete series with scheelite and this specimen glows a bright lemon yellow under LUV.

Thanks to Jason at indiarockhounder for the specimen and the image!

Powellite, var.
Cupropowellite

Copper can replace some of the calcium in powellite - turning the crystals greenish-yellow, as in this miniature from the Jardinera No. 1 Mine, Inca de Oro, Copiapó, Atacama Province, Chile, and turning off the fluorescence.

Thanks to Justin Zzyzx's (ZzyzxMinerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Scheelite

Two small light orange scheelites (calcium tungstate) ride on this mixed sulfide matrix with enargite from the Huanzala Mine, Huanuco Department, Peru.

Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Row 4

Scheelite

Scheelite's one of the major tungsten ores - this one comes from the Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, in the Hunan Province of China. It forms a series with its molybdate analog, powellite. There's also some purple fluorites and pearlescent white dolomite riding on the doubly-terminated smoky quartz crystal.

Thanks to Greg Holland at Stone Haven Minerals for the specimen!

Scheelite

A nice orange scheelite on muscovite from China.

Scheelite

A cute little colorless scheelite crystal from Kern County, California.

Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 5

Scheelite

Sharp tan scheelite crystals on dolomite and quartz also from the Yaogangxian Mine in China.

Thanks to Roger Hoek at ARCH Mineralsfor the specimen!

Scheelite

A thumbnail cluster of scheelites from Xue Bao Ding, Ping Wu, Sichuan Province, China.

Thanks to Stuart Schneider's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Scheelite

A sharp 7mm brown scheelite crystal on a quartz matrix from the Taewha Mine, Changju, Korea. This locality was written up in Mineralogical Record, Vol. 10, No. 3. Most of the quartz is coated with scheelite - it all glows blue under SUV (larger image, right). Ex: World Minerals, Inc, (Ray Thompson, Denver), and Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Museum.

Thanks to Dru Wilbur's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 6

Scheelite

A beautiful 3cm scheelite crystal on a muscovite matrix with quartz and probable powellite (larger image, lower right) also from Xue Bao Ding in China.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Scheelite

A old thumbnail scheelite crystal from Yung Wha, (Yeonwha?) Korea.

Thanks to Jan Garland's (Fine Rocks) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Scheelite

A beautiful sharp 1.4 cm pale gray scheelite crystal from Chenzhou  Prefecture, Hunan Province, China.

Thanks to ringarcher's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

maintained by: Alan Guisewite

Last Update 19 Feb 2011