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Datolite (12 replies)

Rock Currier — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:52:36 +0000


Datolite, Bor Pit , Dal'negorsk Primorskiy Kray, Russia, 8.5cm tall	© Roger Lang 2003

Datolite specimen are commonly found in amygdaloidal cavities in diabase and basalt. It has been found abundantly in a wollastonite skarn deposit in Dalnegorsk, Russia and these specimens are currently available in substantial quantities and the Datolite specimens from this locality are arguably the best from any locality and occur in a substantial variety of crystal forms, colors and sizes. There are many good localities for daotlite specimens and the specimens described in the following localities is by no means exhaustive and will certainly be added to as good images from other localities become available. For yeas we Americans thought that we had a lock on the best and largest Datolite crystals but that was false pride because we knew nothing about the Datolites from Dalnegorsk. The Handbook of Minerals lists the largest know crystal as 12 cm but does not say where it came from but chances are that it came from Dalnegorsk and that larger crystals that that have been produced. Mindat currently lists a 404 localities for Datolite.
[Rock Currier 2009]

Datolite
Australia
Tasmania, Rosebery district, Colebrook Hill, Colebrook Hill Mine


Datolite, FOV 3cm	© R. Bottrill 2006

Datolite occurs in the Colebrook Hill mine, near Rosebery, as pale yellow-green to colourless crystals up to 20 mm across and also as crystalline masses associated with calcite, danburite, tremolite-actinolite, ferro-axinite and sulfide minerals (Bottrill and Baker, 2008: Manchester and Bottrill, in prep.). It is a late-stage mineral in the cavities in the axinite-rich skarn. It is seldom collected as it looks like quartz (which also occurs in the skarn), but I have seen some excellent specimens, perhaps worth up to $500 if they ever got on the market. The deposit is a well known Dana location for excellent axinite-(Fe). It was originally developed as a copper mine, with several open stopes and underground workings over a square km or so, but only operated briefly. It was since open by open cut and has been blasted for specimens, and there is a bit of material available still. The site is relatively inaccessible now though, a days trip through muddy, snake and leech infested, deep rainforest up a steep mountain; my last couple visits have lost half the party en route, and I have trouble getting anyone to come now. Uwe Kolitsch made though.
[Ralph Bottrill, 2008]

Datolite
Austria
Salzburg, Hohe Tauern Mts, Obersulzbach valley, Bleidächer


Datolite on Quartz, 10cm wide	© Gerd Stefanik

Datolite
Canada
Ontario, Hastings Co., Bancroft District, Faraday Township, Faraday Hill


Datolite,~3.5cm wide	©


Datolite,~7.5cm wide	©


Datolite, ~12.5cm wide	©

This locality is listed in several mineralogy texts as producing fine crystals of Datolite, and you can see from the above images that they were correct.

Datolite
Italy
Piedmont, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province, Baveno,


Datolite, ~4.5cm wide	©


Datolite on Microcline, ~6cm wide	©

A classical old locality better know for its feldspars (Baveno twins) but it also produces specimens of other minerals like Datolite, Fluorite & Babingtonite. I don't think the datolite specimens get much better than the two pictured above.

Datolite
Mexico
San Luis Potosí, Mun. de Charcas, Charcas


Datolite, ~6cm wide	©


Datolite on Chalcopyrite, ~7cm wide	©


Datolite, Pyrite & Chalcopyrite, ~6cm wide	©


Datolite,~5cm wide	©


Datolite, 3cm wide	© 2002 John H. Betts


Datolite, 9cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite & Danburite, 8.1cm	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite 9.3cm	© Rob Lavinsky

The base metal mine at Charcas is better know for its Danburite crystals but from time to time it produce fine specimens of danburite. The Datolite specimens from this locality are never abundant and good specimens from this locality are never sold cheaply. Sometimes these specimens are associated with little crystals of sulfide minerals like Chalcopyrite that make them particularly appealing to collectors.

Datolite
Norway
More og Romsdal, Norddal, Tafjord, Tafjord tunnel

The occurence of Datolite and other minerals in the Tafjord tunnel were first described in an article in NAGS-nytt (previous name of the Nordic magazin "Stein" ) in oct/dec. 1981. ( Knut Eldjarn, "Mineraler fra Tafjord-tunnelen", NAGS-nytt oct-dec 1981). The rocks in the region are old, deep-seated metamorphic rocks which locally host veins and cavities of minerals formed at a later stage. During tunneling to make a new road from Fjøre to Tafjord a system of veins and cavities were encountered about 1 km from the western entrance in november 1980. Veins and druses up to 30-40 cm contained large quartz crystals and crystals of feldspar (microcline/orthoclase) and later formed crystals of apophyllite and calcite. Scattered crystals and fragments of a yellow and glassy mineral were also found by one of the workers and later shown to mineral collectors from the nearby city of Ålesund and one specimen was shown to me in december 1980by a visiting collector from the area. Local collectors visited the tunnel in june 1981 and saved more material including also yellow crystals of datolite. I visited the locality later in the summer before writing the article about the locality and also collected a few specimens including one good 2 cm twinned crystal of datolite and excellent calcite crystals with inclusions of julgoldite etc. The following minerals were (visually) identified in situ and on specimens in mineral collections in Ålesund at the time: quartz crystals to near 1/2 m, orthoclase/microcline crystals to 10 cm, chlorite-group, calcite crystals to 5 cm in at least 2 generations - the last of these sometimes hosting inclusions of small flattened crystals of julgoldite(see: [www.mindat.org]), apatite was rarely seen in greenish-white crystals to 3 cm, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, apophyllite in platy, white crystals to 5 cm, hematite, laumontite, babingtonite in crystals to 2 mm and datolite in mostly single, yellow crystals and fragments of large crystals to 15 cm. Most of the datolite crystals were found loose, but a few matrix specimens were saved. The datolite crystals were unusual in being both large and very glassy and partly transparent with a nice yellow colour. Some of the fragments were faceted. No more than 30-40 crystals and larger fragments of datolite and a small number of matrix specimens of datolite were saved and some can be seen in museums and private collections in Norway.
[Knut Eldjarn 2009]

Datolite
Russia
Far-Eastern Region, Primorskiy Kray, Dal'negorsk (Dalnegorsk; Tjetjuche; Tetjuche), Bor Pit


Datolite, 6cm wide	© 2001 John H. Betts


Datolite, 7cm wide	© 2002 John H. Betts


Datolite, 4.5cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 7cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 12cm wide	© Jorge M. Alves


Datolite, 5.5cm wide	© fabreminerals.com


Datolite, 5.7cm tall	© Dan & Diana Weinrich Minerals


Datolite & Quartz, 9.6cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 4.8cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 5cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite & Quartz, 6.7cm tall	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 10.5cm wide	© finestminerals


Datolite, 7cm wide	© Roger Lang 2003


Datolite, 4.2cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 3.9cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 16.5cm wide	© Joseph A. Freilich, LLC


Datolite, 8.9cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite & Quartz, 6.7cm wide	© Eric Graff


Datolite & Quartz, 11.1cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 15.5cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky

During the cold war, Russia developed a fortress economy and if they could not find deposits of minerals within their own borders that were economically competitive with deposits in other parts of the world, they made do with what they had. A prime example of this is the big open pit boron mine adjacent to the little down of Dalnegorsk only a few kilometers east of the sea of Japan. Though it was not competitive with the borate mines in the western world, it was the best the Russians could find. The deposit is a boron rich skarn, and the main boron mineral of interest is Datolite and a large mill and borate production facility was built and operated for years to process the Datolite from this deposit. Borate producers in the west would never dream of trying to produce borate products from such an impoverished source because they had available large deposits of calcium and sodium borates available to mine. But the Russians like the Americans found that during wartime when you don't have a competitive resource within your own borders you do what ever it takes to get the job done, and they got it done. In Dalnegorsk you can walk from the edge of town directly onto the benches of the big Datolite mine and as you walk the benches you can see many open pockets (the good specimens long gone of curse) and speculate on how many thousands of flats of specimens the mine has produced. What percentage of the good specimen (undoubtedly very high) were lost during routine blasting in the mine and dumped into the crushers. You can see from the images above the considerable variety of crystal forms and colors available in specimens from the mine. The mine now operates at a very low level if at all, and I am sure that if you look on a Google earth satellite map you can see the mine. It is likely to be a good place to collect daotlite crystals into the foreseeable future. On the other side of the valley above the town is a little pit known as the Danburite mine. Here Danburite was mines for a short time in hope of also extracting borate chemicals. This was not successful but it did produce some of the largest known Danburite crystals, some associated with little hexagonal looking tabular white Datolite crystals. There are a number of base metal mines also located in this large regional skarn that produce beautiful specimens of ilvaite, galena, calcite, pyrrhotite and a number of others, but these mines have nothing to do with the Boron mines other than their close proximity in the same regional skarn.
[Rock Currier 2009]

Datolite
South Africa
Northern Cape Province, Kalahari manganese fields, Hotazel, Wessels Mine (Wessel's Mine


Datolite, 5.5cm tall	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 4.2cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, 3.3cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite & Xonotlite, 6cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky

Good datolite specimens from this locality are scarce and always find a ready home with collectors.

Datolite
Spain
Basque Country, Vizcaya, Errigoiti


Datolite, 5.2cm wide	© JRGL


Datolite, 9.6cm wide	© fabreminerals.com

Datolite
Switzerland
Wallis (Valais), Les Bagnes Valley, Sembrancher, Le Catogne Mt., East slope


Datolite & Calcite, 5.2cm wide	© Christian Bracke

Datolite
USA
Connecticut, Hartford Co., East Granby, Roncari quarry (Tilcon quarry)


Datolite & Apophyllite, ~20cm wide	©


Datolite & Apophyllite, ~20 cm wide	©


Datolite on Prehnite ~9cm tall	©


Datolite on Prehnite, ~5cm wide	©


Datolite & hematite?~12.5cm wide	©


Prehnite ~7cm tall	©


Datolite on Prehnite, ~7cm wide	©


Datolite on ?, ~6.5cm wide	©


Datolite, ~8cm wide	©


Datolite & Quartz, ~8cm wide	©


Datolite & Quartz, ~5 cm wide	©


Datolite & Quartz, ~5cm tall	©


Datolite on Quartz, ~5cm wide	©


Datolite & Quartz, ~9cm wide	©


Datolite & Calcite, ~15cm wide	©


Datolite, ~6cm wide	©

This trap rock quarry is perhaps a little better known for its prehnite specimens, but it has produced many good specimens of Datolite, many associated with prismatic quartz crystals and prehnite. The specimens from this mine are not as abundant as the Datolites from Paterson, New Jersey, probably mostly because less collecting was permitted there over the the years than at Paterson. One quarry worker/collector I knew had a large display of specimens from this quarry, at least half of them were datolite specimens, and part of a basement full of more specimens from the quarry. Several thousand specimens at least.
[Rock Currier 2009]

Datolite
USA
Massachusetts, Hampden Co., Westfield, Hampden quarry


Datolite, 4.4cm wide	© fabreminerals.com

Datolite
USA
Massachusetts, Hampden Co., Westfield, Lane & Sons Traprock quarries


Datolite & Apophyllite, ~8cm wide	©

Datolite
USA
Michigan, Houghton, Keweenaw & Ontonagon Counties (various mines)


Datolite, Delaware Mine 5.5cm wide	©


Datolite Quincy mine, 7cm wide	© Kristalle and Crys


Datolite & Cu, Centennial mine,1.5cm	© Paul T. Brandes


Datolite Quincy mine, 4.1cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, Quincy mine ~2.2cm wide	©


Datolite, Delaware mine3cm wide	©


Datolite, Drexel Mine 4cm wide	© Paul T. Brandes


Datolite, Delaware mine3.5cm wide	©


Datolite, Centennial mine 6.7 tall	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite, Medora mine 3.2cm wide	© C. Stefano '09


Datolite, Delaware mine 5cm wide	©


Datolite, Phoenix mine 2.5cm wide	© Paul T. Brandes


Datolite, Caledonia mine 5.0cm	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite Flintsteel mine, 3cm wide	© Paul T. Brandes


Datolite, Caledonia mine 5.5cm wide	© Paul T. Brandes


Datolite, ~7cm wide	©


Datolite on Prehnite, ~8cm wide	©

The nodules of massive Datolite from the copper mines of the Keweenaw Peninsula may be unique and though they rarely exceed 12 cm, the beautiful colors and patterns that these Datolite nodules display when cut and polished often make very attractive specimens. They are so attractive that some collectors make fine collection out of nothing else. After looking at these beauties I think I need to get a few more for my collection.
{Rock Currier 2009]

Datolite
USA
New Jersey, Hudson Co., Bergen Hill


Datolite 15cm wide	©

At one time in the late 19th and early 20th century, Datolite specimens from this locality were all the rage. Since that time this classic locality has been eclipsed many time by specimen from new and better localities. After viewing the Datolite specimens above from Dalnegorsk, Russia I don't have any urge to go out and get one of these for my collection.
[Rock Currier 3009]

Datolite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Haledon, Braen Quarry (Braen Stone Industry Quarry; Sam Braen Quarry)


Datolite, 6cm wide	© 2003 John H. Betts


Datolite & chlorite, ~15cm wide	© EAS 2007


Datolite, 5.7cm	© Rob Lavinsky


Datolite after anhydrite, 8.1cm wide	© Rob Lavinsky

Datolite
USA
New Jersey, Passiac Co., Little Falls Township, Great Notch


Datolite on Calcite, ~7cm wide	©

Datolite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Paterson


Datolite, 8.3cm tall	© fabreminerals.com


Datolite, 6.3cm	© Collectors Edge


Datolite, 5.5cm wide	© 2002 John H. Betts


Datolite & Calcite, 5cm wide	© 2003 John H. Betts


Datolite & Calcite, 3.1cm	© 2008 FAI III


Datolite & Pectolite, 4.2cm wide	© fabreminerals.com


Datolite, ~10cm tall	©


Datolite, ~3.5cm wide	©


Datolite & Prehnite, ~6cm wide	©


Datolite, ~11 cm wide	©


Datolite & Calcite, ~5cm wide	©


Datolite & Prehnite, ~11cm wide	©


Datolite, 5.4cm wide	© fabreminerals.com

Paterson is generally better know for its Prehnite than for its Datolite specimens. But Datolite specimens are abundant in the amygdaloids in the basalts at this locality. Some of them are surprisingly good but shrink considerably when viewed against the Datolite specimens from Dalnegorsk, Russia, For several generations this quarry has produced thousands of Datolite specimens but the quarry is pretty small compared to the Datolite mine at Dalnegorsk. In my youth I was able to collect good specimens of datolite and prehnite when ever I could wangle permission to collect in the quarry. Hundreds of collectors over the years have collected here and no few mineral dealers have cut their teeth with specimens from this quarry. On a good afternoon I have heard the old timers saying that they could drive a pick up truck into the quarry and in a few hours load it up with Prehnite specimens.
[Rock Currier 2009]

Datolite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Paterson, Upper New Street Quarry (Burger's Quarry)


Datolite & Chabazite, ~9cm wide	©

Datolite
USA
New Jersey, Somerset Co., Bernards Township, Millington Quarry (Morris County Crushed Stone Co. Quarry; Tilcon Quarry)


Datolite & Pectolite	©


Datolite, 10cm wide	© EAS 2008

Datolite
USA
New Jersey, Somerset Co., Watchung, Fanwood Quarry (Fanwood Stone Crushing and Quarry Co. Quarry; Fanwood Crushed Stone Co. Quarry; Scotch Plains Quarry; Weldon Quarry)


Datolite & Calcite, 9.6cm wide	© 2008 FAI III

Datolite
USA
Texas, Uvalde Co., Knippa, Knippa quarry (Whites mines; Texas Traprock quarries; Traprock Hill)


Datolite "crystal ball", 1.8mm on Calcite	© D. Saathoff

Datolite
USA
Washington, Skamania Co., Lewis River


Datolite, ~7.5cm tall	©

Dreyerite (5 replies)

Roger Lang — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:20:31 +0000

Can you help make this a better article? What good localities have we missed? Can you supply pictures of better specimens than those we show here? Can you give us more and better information about the specimens from these localities? Can you supply better geological or historical information on these localities?

Below are some first notes I have made about Dreyerite. This entry and thread has been made as a place holder for information that you will hopefully contribute about Dreyerite.

If you have questions about the format that such an article should have, go the the welcome topic at the top of the Best Minerals forum and read what has been posted there. Also take a look at some of the more mature articles that have already been written like Rhodochrosite, Adamite, Millerite etc. You will need also to pick out other images of Dreyerite that will go into the article.

There is only few info on Dreyerite and i am lucky that we have some detailed descriptions at our local museum including photographs and records from Dr. Dreyer. Nevertheless any input is welcome!

Cheers
Roger

Dreyerite
BiVO4, Tetragonal


Type material from Hirschhorn	© R. Lang 2009/BEW Imsbach

The very rare Bi vanadate Dreyerite was discovered in the year 1978 by Dr. Gerhard Dreyer, a german mineralogist
who was an assistant professor at the Mainz university. The mineral occurred in clefts of a silicified fossil wood of permian age which was found southeast of the village of Hirschhorn in Rhineland-Palatinate. Besides other minerals Dreyer noticed "straw-yellow, dirty-yellow to brownish-yellow" crystals which were initially identified as 'Bismite'.

But first analyses revealed their composition to be BiVO4 and the crystal system to be tetragonal - and that this mineral hadn´t been found in nature until then. Together with E. Tillmanns Dreyer carried out chemical, mineralogical and crystallographical tests for an exact description and submitted the results to the IMA for approval as a new mineral. He suggested the name to be 'Bisvanite'.


SEM-picture of the original Dreyerite material.	© R. Lang 2009/BEW Imsbach


Draft of the first article on Dreyerite	© R. Lang 2009/BEW Imsbach

Before approval by the IMA Gerhard Dreyer died in a tragic car accident during a scientific field trip. In consequence the name of the new mineral was changed to 'Dreyerite' to honour one of the most profound connoisseurs of Palatinan mineralogy, geology and mining history.

Dreyerite is only known from a very few places worldwide. The probably best specimens - although also micro crystals as had been found at the type locality - have been described from the Clara mine at Oberwolfach, Black Forest, Germany. Last but not least in 2009 Dreyerite has been described from the Schneeberg, Erzgebirge area.

References:
Belendorff, K. (2009): Dreyerit und Rhabdophan-(Nd) aus Schneeberg, Erzgebirge. Mineralien-Welt 20 (3), 27-29. (in German)
Dreyer, G.; Tillmanns, E. (1981): Dreyerite: natural, tetragonal bismuth vanadate from Hirschhorn/Pfalz. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Monatshefte 1981, 151-154. (in German).
Kolitsch, U., J. Gröbner, G. Blaß, H.-W. Graf und A. Pring (2005): Neufunde aus der Grube Clara im mittleren Schwarzwald (II): Dreyerit, Gasparit-(Ce), Klinobisvanit, Kobaltkoritnigit, Metatyuyamunit, Roscoelith, Sengierit, Vésigniéit und Wakefieldit. Lapis 30 (9), 35-39; 58. (in German)
unpublished reports and photographs from the archive of the Pfälzisches Bergbaumuseum Imsbach e.V.

Germany

Hirschhorn, Katzweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

The material from the type locality at Hirschhorn is scarce and only a few samples are kept in Mainz and in the USA. The Dreyerite occurred there as small yellowish tabular crystals or radial crystal aggregates together with native Silver, Baryte, Uraninite and other secondary arsenates and vanadates in clefts and fissures of silicified Dadoxylon sp.


Dadoxylon sp. sample with Dreyerite.	© R. Lang 2009/BEW Imsbach

Clara Mine, Oberwolfach, Baden-Württemberg


Dreyerite, Clara mine.	© Stephan Wolfsried

Güldener Falk Mine, Schneeberg District, Saxony

We need someone to tell us about the dreyerite from this locality and infos/history about & pictures.

More references can be found at the mindat-page for Dreyerite.

Dundasite (2 replies)

Ralph Bottrill — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:30:14 +0000

Dundasite
PbAl₂[(OH)₂|CO₃]₂ · H₂O Monoclinic.

Can you help make this a better article? What good localities have we missed? Can you supply pictures of better specimens than those we show here? Can you give us more and better information about the specimens from these localities? Can you supply better geological or historical information on these localities?
Should the different species be treated in separate articles?


Crocoite and Dundasite, Kapi mine, 10cm	© R. Bottrill

This is a relatively rare secondary lead mineral found in the weathering zones of some lead deposits. , It usually occurs in small spherical aggregates of radiating white crystals and also as matted or felted crusts, sometimes with a greenish or bluish exterior.
It was first discovered in the Adelaide Proprietary mine, Dundas, Tasmania and later found in about a #70 localities around the world but the ones mentioned here are the ones of most interest to collectors.

In the Adelaide mine, the type locality, the mineral occurs as an encrustation on ferro-manganese gossan, as botryoidal-fibrous aggregates of white to pale green crystals to 1 mm in length. It commonly overgrows crocoite and may also be overgrown by yellow cerussite and, less commonly, a later generation of crocoite. There is sometimes a thin bright green coating which is an unidentified Cr-bearing silicate mineral (fuchsite?), still under investigation (eg. Tas. Museum X2981; Bottrill et al., in prep.).

Good hand specimens bring prices of maybe $1,000.

1. A System of Mineralogy, Dana, 7th edition, 1951, p.646-649.
2. Mineralogical Record, Australia Issue, Haupt, J., 1988: Minerals of Western Tasmania. 196, 381-388
3. Australian Journal of Mineralogy, (Dundas Issue) Bottrill, R.S., Williams, P., Dohnt, S., Sorrell, S. and Kemp, N.R. (2006). Crocoite and associated minerals from Dundas and other locations in Tasmania. 12, 59-90
4. A Catalogue of the Minerals of Tasmania. Bottrill, R.S. & Baker, W.E. (2008) Bull. 73. Tasmanian Geological Survey

[Ralph Bottrill, 16th Feb 2009]

Dundasite
Australia
Tasmania, Zeehan district, Dundas mineral field, Adelaide Mine (Adelaide Pty Mine; Adelaide Proprietary Mine)
[www.mindat.org]
Field of view: 4.5mm.
[www.mindat.org]
Dundasite overgrowing crocoite. The green surface colour may be due to a thin coating of fuchsite?
50x30 mm.
[www.mindat.org]
Yellowish spheres of Dundasite associated with Crocoite crystals. Field of view 9 mm.
[www.mindat.org]
Balls of Dundasite on Gossan Matrix from the Adelaide mine, the type locality for this mineral. Old time specimen. Specimen size 28mm high.

Kapi Mine, North Dundas, Zeehan district, Tasmania, Australia
[www.mindat.org]
A cute 2.6 by 2.4 cms specimen of small white acicular crystals of Dundasite completely covering first generation Crocoite crystals with some minor later generation of Crocoite and Chrome Cerussite.

[www.mindat.org]
White Dundasite grown over red Crocoite. Picture width is 4mm.

Le Rocheux Mine, Oneux, Theux, Verviers, Liège Province, Belgium
[www.mindat.org]
Field of view: 2 x 1.6 mm.
[www.mindat.org]
Field of view 7 mm.

Le Cantonnier vein, Nontron, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France
[www.mindat.org]
Green pyromorphite un Dundasite sprays
Field is 4,19 x 2,76 mm
[www.mindat.org]
Field of view : 3,5 X 5 mm

Mas Dieu, Mercoirol, Gard, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
[www.mindat.org]
Dundasite balls with Azurite , Malachite and Baryte
Field of view 5,5 mm

Cap Garonne Mine, Pradet, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
[www.mindat.org] Dundasite on Mimetite~1-2mm?
[www.mindat.org] FOV= 3mm

Nagylápa-fõ adit, Parádsasvár (Üveghuta), Mátra Mts., Heves Co., Hungary
[www.mindat.org]
White,fibrous dundasite group.
Width of picture:2mm

Tynagh Mine, Killimor, Co. Galway, Ireland
[www.mindat.org]
Acicular needles of dundasite. Field of view, 1mm x 1mm.

Gonnesa, Carbonia-Iglesias Province, Sardinia, Italy
[www.mindat.org]
sphaeres of acicular white crystals of dundasite area size 4.5 mm

San Giovanneddu Mine (S'Ega Porceddu), Gonnesa, Carbonia-Iglesias Province, Sardinia, Italy
[www.mindat.org]
Field of view: 7mm

San Giovanni Mine, Punta della Torre, Iglesias, Carbonia-Iglesias Province, Sardinia, Italy
[www.mindat.org]
Dundasite - area 3x2 cm.

Monte Trisa, Mercanti Valley, Torrebelvicino, Vicenza Province, Veneto, Italy
[www.mindat.org]
group of azure balls of dundasite up to 1.1 mm

Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia
[www.mindat.org]
Dundasite is rare enough but this beautiful blue dundasite apparently occured only once and many of the specimens were in all likelihood sold off as plancheite and thus misidentified.
[www.mindat.org]

Tui Mine, Te Aroha, North Island, New Zealand
[www.mindat.org]
Tufts of white dundasite on finer grained, pale blue dundasite spheres (the disputed cupro-dundasite), both on straw cerussite. FOV = ~11mm

Greystones Quarry, Lezant, Callington District, Cornwall, England, UK
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]

Trevinnick Mine, St Endellion, Area East of Wadebridge, Wadebridge District, Cornwall, England, UK
[www.mindat.org]
Area 5mm

New Pandora Mine (Pandora Mine; Standard Mine ; Welsh Foxdale Mine), Llanrwst, Gwydyr Forest area, Conwy (Gwynedd; Caernarvonshire), Wales, UK
[www.mindat.org]
Dundasite coating cerussite xls. Collected by Sir Arthur Russell in 1904. Overall size: 12 x 19 x 13 mm

Juanita Mine, Magdalena District, Socorro Co., New Mexico, USA
[www.mindat.org]
White, silky, fibrous crystals of Dundasite with Azurite and pale blue Allophane. Field of view = 3.0 mm

Refs
1. Mineralogical Record, Australia Issue, Haupt, J., 1988: Minerals of Western Tasmania. 196, 381-388
2. Australian Journal of Mineralogy, (Dundas Issue) Bottrill, R.S., Williams, P., Dohnt, S., Sorrell, S. and Kemp, N.R. (2006). Crocoite and associated minerals from Dundas and other locations in Tasmania. 12, 59-90
3. A Catalogue of the Minerals of Tasmania. Bottrill, R.S. & Baker, W.E. (2008) Bull. 73. Tasmanian Geological Survey

Davidite (25 replies)

Rock Currier — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:03:41 +0000


Davidite-(La), Beqtau-Ata, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Kazakhstan, 7cm across	© Pavel M. Kartashov

Davidite, especially Davidite-(La) is by far the most common and abundant member of the Crichtonite group of menials which include Landauite, Loveringite, Crichtonite, Senaite, Mathiasite, Lindsleyite, Gramaccioliite-(Y) & Cleusonite. Aparently Romanite is also now a member of the group and previously many misidentified Davidites were called Romanites. Davidite-(La) is the only member of the group that is mined commercially because of its Uranium content like in eastern Siberia and Australia. Davidint-(Ce) is much rarer than Davidine-(La) but can still form crystals of substantial size like at the Tuftin pegmatite in Norway which occur in elongated masses to 20 cm with rough semi-linear outlines. Davidite-(La) is hexagonal and commonly metamict and has been found in rough flattened crystals as large as 30 cm.¹. Of course you can't tell the difference between the two species without a chemical analysis and often because of their metamict nature and somewhat variable chemistry it is sometimes difficult to assign a species name correctly.
1. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony, Bideaux, Bladh, Nichols. Vol.III, p158

Davidite
Australia
South Australia, Olary Province, Plumbago Station, Billeroo Mine, Radium Hill & others


Davidite-(La),	© PAWulser

The Radium Hill locality is claimed to be the type locality for both Davidite-(Ce) and Davidite-(La)¹
1. Mark Willoughby communication 2009.
We need someone to tell us about the Davidite specimens from this locality.

Davidite-(La)
Kazakhstan
Qaraghandy Oblysy (Karaganda Oblast'), Beqtau-Ata (Bektau-Ata)


Davidite-(La), 3.6cm across	© Rob Lavinsky


Davidite-(La) 1.5 cm across	© Martins da Pedra


Davidite-(La)1.6 cm across	© Peter Kohorst

We need someone to tell us about the Davidite specimens from this locality.

Davidite-(La)
Mozambique
Tete district, Mavusi at Matema & Campangula


Davidite-(La) 5.3 cm across.	©

In very large rough crystals as large as 30 cm?

We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.

Davidite-(Ce)
Norway
Aust-Agder, Iveland, Iveland, Frikstad (Frigstad), Tuftane (Tuftan; Tuptane)


Davidite-(Ce)	©

This locality is considered the type locality for Davidite-(Ce) in Russian literature.¹
1. Pavel Kartashov sites: Neumann, H. & Sverdrup, T.L.(1960): Contributions to the mineralogy of Norway No. 8. Davidite from Tuftan, Iveland. Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift 40: 277-288.

We need someone to tell us about the Davidite-(Ce) specimens from this locality.

Davidite-(La)
Spain
Badajos
A very important locality for davidites is Badajos in Spain. Very complex and nice twins are known from here, unfortunately their sizes are only up to 2 mm. Also davidites from here are very rich by Cr, V and Sc.¹
1. Pavel Kartashov, email 2009.

We need some pictures of these specimens and someone to tell us more about the specimens and loclaity.

Davidite-(La)
Switzerland
Grischun (Grisons; Graubünden), Vorderrhein Valley, Tujetsch (Tavetsch)


Davidite-(La) FOV 12mm	© Stephan Wolfsried


Davidite-(La) FOV 4mm	© Stephan Wolfsried

We need someone to tell us about the Davidite specimens from this locality.

Davidite-(La)
Zambia
North-Western Province, South East Solwezi, Luswishi River


Davidite-(La), 4.7cm wide	©

We need someone to tell us about this locality and the Davidite specimens it produces.

Best D Minerals - Welcome (no replies)

Rock Currier — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:54:22 +0000

In this forum we hope to create articles with pictures about all minerals beginning with the letter D. You are welcomed and encouraged to help create content for this and all the Best Mineral forums. You are encouraged to use the approximate format that has already been developed and exampled in the more extensively developed examples in the Best A Minerals forum. If you would like to take a crack at creating content for a particular mineral, please read over the suggestions and example in the sticky message at the top of the A minerals forum and then add it to this thread entry and I will work with you and walk you through any problems you may encounter. Ill also create a thread entry for the mineral you want to work on and help get you started. You will not be able to create new threads in this forum, unless you are approved as a moderator of the Best Minerals forum. If you have something you think is worth adding to the thread about a particular mineral, just make a thread entry about it, and Ill add it into the thread for that particular entry or at leas ask you for more information about it. There is a huge amount of work to do, so lets get started.

Ideally what we want to know about each significant mineral from each locality is:

1. What is the largest crystal of the mineral that the locality has produced?
2. What do the best specimens from this locality look like and where can one be seen?
3. Does the locality produce a variety of different kinds of specimens of this species, and what do the best of each type look like and how many of them were found etc.
4. What are the associated minerals found with this species and what is its geological setting?
5. How abundant are these specimens and when were they found? A type locality? In other words, how rare are they.
6. How do they compare to other specimens of the same mineral from other localities?
7. How much is it worth. This should probably be optional, but in cases where specimens are worth thousands of dollars we should probably say something of the value of these things.
8. What kind of care and feeding do these specimens require? Are they delicate, radioactive, unstable, color changeable etc.?
9. Are the specimens commonly faked, and if so, how to tell if they are?
10. Are there any interesting stories relating to the collecting of these specimens or their discovery as a new mineral?

Of course this is in reality impractical, but if we keep these questions in mind, we will do a lot better job when writing about them.