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Prehnite
Ca2Al2Si3O12(OH) Orthorhombic
Usually prehnite is found as a botryoidal bubbly green mineral and there are plenty of examples of this kind of prehnite below. Sometimes however it is found in fine sharp crystals, but those are not common and are probably best exampled by specimens from Asbestos, Quebec, Canada like the one pictured above. Most collectors unless they have seen some of these relatively rare crystals would not even be able to identify them as prehnite. So what are the best prehnite specimens? I am partial to the wonderful crystals from Asbestos, Quebec, but then when I see some of the great prehnite snake head casts from Lower New Street quarry I think, well perhaps those are the best. Then there are the amazing balls of orange crystals from the Manganese mines near Kuruman in South Africa and then some of the fine combinations of Prehnite and Epidote crystals from the recent find in Mali are pretty amazing as well. I guess Ill just have to get some of all of those. Fine examples of these and many more you can see below. I wish I had them all. Remember the mantra of all good collectors! "Everything is not nearly enough."
Prehnite, when it is found is often plentiful, especially in basalts and is frequently found with other “zeolite” type minerals. One old time collector in New Jersey told me that on a good day he could drive his pickup (truck) into the Park (Prospect Park Quarry (Sowerbutt Quarry; Vandermade Quarry; Warren Brothers Quarry) and fill it up with prehnite specimens that lay scattered about in the blast pile. I have collected in this quarry on a good day and you could look around the quarry (you looked only in the upper most walls because the lower basalts were almost always barren) and I could count ten or twenty open pockets. Only the occasional pocket had great specimen in it but when each blast produced that many pockets you know that wonderful things were produced from time to time.
Other localities, like the alpine vein kind of localities often produce fine prehnite specimens, but they are very stingy compared to the basalt localities. However many basalts don’t have any prehnite to speak of at all. Like most of the zeolitic basalt locations in India or in northern Uruguay or southern Brazil. Almost all the prehnite specimens produced in the Deccan basalts is found near Bombay, almost exclusively at the quarry known as Malad. The Uruguayan and Brazilian basalts, though famous for their abundant amethyst specimens have few other associated minerals occurring in their amygdaloidal cavities. Sometimes skarn deposits produce abundant prehnite specimens. Most notably are the specimens from the Kays region of Mali that has produced literally tons of prehnite. Most of this prehnite has been sent in containers to the lapidary factories in China for conversion into beads and carvings. Ultimately much of it probably gets sold off as “jade” to unsuspecting customers who have never heard of Prehnite, but have heard of Jade.
Prehnite is also a very tough mineral and will even survive pretty much intact in a blast pile. When I got my first shipments of prehnite specimens from Mali, they were not individually wrapped but rather thrown all jumbled together in big burlap bags. I thought most of them would be ruined beyond redemption by this rough treatment and watched with dismay as the first bag full was dumped onto the cleaning screens. To my amazement, after pressure washing and cleaning with an air abrasive tool using glass beads (hardness of about 5.5) the prehnite looked almost untouched and it was rare to find one that appeared to be damaged. You almost have to hit one directly with a hammer to cause it much damage. If you so much as look at some minerals like barite, they seem to break, but prehnite is a tough customer. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Prehnite is a mineral that has been known for a long time. It was named after Colonel Hendrick von Phren (1733-1785) who discovered the mineral near the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. I am not sure if anyone even knows where this locality is today or if the type material was ever saved. It has other names other than Prehnite. Sage called it chrysotile and Rome' de Lisle assigned it to the schorl group in 1783. Werner gave it the name Prehnite in 1790 and that name has stuck with us so far. Because of the almost universal twinning of Prehnite, the crystal structure of the mineral was not resolved till 1990 on Prehnite from Komiža, Vis Island, Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The Handbook of Mineralogy says the largest crystals are 4 cm, but I have seen large ones from Asbestos, Quebec though they are not all that sharp.
1.Crystal structure of prehnite: Zunic, T.B., S. Scavnicar, and G. Molin (1990 Crystal structure of prehnite from Komiza. Eur. J. Mineral., 2, 731-734.
[Rock Currier 2009]
Prehnite
Australia
New South Wales, Cumberland Co., Prospect (Prospect Hill), Prospect Quarry
The quarry has produced specimens over a long period of time and large specimens are not uncommon. I have heard Australian collectors comment that it was hard to get good small ones.
Prehnite
Australia
New South Wales, Gowen Co., Coonabarabran
We need someone to tell us about the prehnite specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Australia
Gunnedah, Pottinger Co., New South Wales
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Australia
New South Wales, Pottinger Co., Mullaley
We need someone to tell us about the prehnite specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Australia
Tasmania, Tasmania, Tasmania
We need someone to tell us about the Prehnite specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Austria
Carinthia, Koralpe Mts, Kamp, Fraßgraben
A pretty ugly prehnite. I wonder if better are produced at this locality. We need someone to tell us about them.
Prehnite
Austria
Salzburg, Hohe Tauern Mts, Habach valley
There are a number of prehnite localities in the Habach valley that produce prehnite and among those pictured here are: Breitfuß Mt. - Großer Finagl Mt. area; Großer Finagl Mt., Gamsmutter Mt. (east slope); Kratzenberg Mt., Prehnite Island and Teufelsmühle. To know somewhat more precise localities, just click on the image of your choice and read the complete captions when the full size image appears.
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from these localities.
Prehnite
Austria
Styria, Stubalpe Mts, Hennereben, Roßbachgraben
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Canada
Québec, Richmond Co., Shipton Township, Asbestos, Jeffrey Mine (Jeffrey Quarry)
The big open pit asbestos mine at Asbestos, Quebec on occasions gobbled up bits of the town as they either slid into it or had to be moved to accommodate mining. Eventually, health concerns related to the use of asbestos caused a great decline in demand for asbestos and the mine to became unprofitable. It is now closed. But during its operation, the mine produced some of the finest specimens of grossular garnets thus far found. In addition, but well less known, were world class specimens of Prehnite, Vesuvianite, Pectolite and other minerals. In the case of Prehnite I believe Asbestos has produced the best examples of crystallized prehnite in the world. The Hnadbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et. al. sites the largest Prehnite crystal as being 4 cm but I saw one crystal, from the same pocket as the one at the lower left above that measured 10 cm and I doubt that I saw the largest. The sharp, steep pyramidal crystals shown above an the one at the lead in of this article may be the finest prehnite crystal found to date. I used to have fun running sight identification contests where I would show five or six substantially different, but well crystallized examples of Prehnite from Asbestos and no one would ever guess what they were let alone where they were from. Then I would sit back and enjoy the groans when my victims found out that they were all prehnite specimens from Asbestos. There was one good size pocket, perhaps the size of a bushel basket that produced most of the well crystallized prehnites with steep bipyramids with pointed tips. Perhaps three or four flats of material in all. They were collected by the mine geologist, Francisco Spertini and though not colorful, I think they were the best specimens of crystallized prehnite found to date.
[Rock Currier 2009]
Prehnite
China
This giant ball of stilbite is in the British Museum of Natural history. When I first saw it I didn't believe it was real, but it is. The only locality the keeper of minerals had was that it was from China. I hope by including it here that someday someone will be able to tell me where it is from exactly.
Prehnite
China
Sichuan Province, Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, Meigu Co., Ganzhizhou Mine
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
China
Sichuan Province, Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, Meigu Co., Hongquizhen Quarry
We need someone to tell us abut the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
China
Yunnan Province, Zhaotong Prefecture, Qiaojia, Qiaojia Co.
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality. There appear to be at least too good localities for prehnite in China and I know at least one of them produces abundantly. I have been offered two or three lots of them and each lot had several hundred specimens of Prehnite/Quartz combinations.
Prehnite
France
Rhône-Alpes, Isère, Bourg d'Oisans
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Germany
Lower Saxony, Harz Mts, Bad Harzburg
We need someone to tell us about this locality and its specimens.
Prehnite
Germany
Lower Saxony, Harz Mts, St Andreasberg District, St Andreasberg
We need someone to tell us about this locality and its specimens.
Prehnite
Germany
Rhineland-Palatinate, Niederkirchen, Rauschermühle Quarry
We need someone to tell us about this locality and its specimens.
Prehnite
Germany
Rhineland-Palatinate, Wolfstein, Kreimbach-Kaulbach, Andesite quarry
We need someone to tell us about this locality and its specimens.
Prehnite
Germany
Saxony-Anhalt, Harz Mts, Wernigerode, Schierke, Wormke bend
We need someone to tell us about this locality and its specimens.
Prehnite
India
Maharashtra, Bombay, Ward 38, Malad
Prehnite is a rare mineral in the Deccan trap rocks of India except at Malad where is is common as pale, almost white little hemispheres growing on quartz and other minerals in the amygdaloids (pockets) of it's pillow basalts. The small blebs of prehnite can be mistaken for small balls of Gyrolite but if you look carefully at them they have a greater degree of translucency and often a very pale green color where as the balls of Gyrolite are more opaque. It is a rare prehnite specimen from Malad that has a good green color. It is not uncommon to find pale green prehnite "sticks" of prehnite, usually growing in clusters that are casts after prismatic laumontite. I have a few specimens in my collection where the laumontite is still intact inside these casts. Initially they were thought to be casts after anhydrite like the casts after anhydrite that are common in the quarries of the Watchung basalts in New Jersey. Most of the amygaloidal cavities that produced the specimens for which the quarry is well known are smaller than a wash tub, but back in the late 60s a large walk in pocket lined with prehnite casts was found. It was large enough that you could almost stand upright in it. Many of the cast clusters were coated with a black material that was later found to be a very pure form of Todorokite which I found much to my delight could be easily removed with a slightly acidified solution of hydrogen peroxide. Also much to my profit, because the dirty black cast clusters were purchased for very little money. Some times these casts had other minerals growing on them, most commonly blocky crystals of Apophyllite-(KOH). Malad has probably produced the worlds best speicmens of this variety of apophyllite as well as the best specimens of Okenite, Gyrolite and Yugawaralite. The specimens from Malad are almost always found growing on small drusy white quartz crystals that commonly line the pockets and the assemblage is distinctive enough that once you are familiar with it, you can always spot a specimen from Malad.
The quarries are located not far from the main north/south railway line that connects Bombay to the mainland. They are located just three kilometers east of the town of Malad and its railway station. You can see them easily from satellite images. In the 60s this part of northern Bombay was almost rural and those who dealt in specimens from there would get off the train at the Malad station and walk or take what ever transport they could command and travel to the quarries. If however you had a car you would most likely travel to the next little town Khandivili (Kandivili) and then back track a little to get to the quarries because there was no road directly from Malad to the quarries. For this reason the name Kandivili or Khandivili became attached to the quarries. They were also by some dealers called the Bombay quarry. There were seven quarries and they were numbered from south to north. When facing the quarries looking east, the number one quarry was the furtherest one south or to your right. The number 2 quarry was where almost all of the Yugawaralite specimens came from. Over the years, the quarries more or less worked into each other and so the quarry numbers are not very meaningful. Today the quarries are not active and it is an area of slum housing.
[Rock Currier 2009]
Prehnite
Italy
Aosta Valley, Champdepraz, Monte Barbeston
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Italy
Piedmont, Torino Province, Sesia-Lanzo zone, Lanzo Valley, Viù Valley, Usseglio, Margone
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Italy
Trentino-Alto Adige, Trento Province, Fassa Valley, Duron Valley, Col Rodella
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Italy
Veneto, Vicenza Province, Recoaro Terme, Civillina Mt.
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Kazakhstan
Zhezqazghan Oblysy (Dzezkazgan Oblast'; Dzhezkazgan Oblast'; Djezkazgan Oblast'; Jezkazgan Oblast')
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Mali
Kayes Region, Bafoulabé Circle, Djouga
The prehnite, epidote and garnet specimens from Mali all derived from the discovery of green grossular garnets in the Kays region of Mali back in 1994, It was reported in the newspapers that emeralds had been discovered. There was a gem rush of sorts that in a small way resembled the early gold rushes in California and other places and at one time there were several thousands of locals digging for these emeralds. It was soon discovered that they were garnets and not emeralds, but it got a lot of people digging for stuff. Soon these diggers started looking at other near by skarn deposits that conveniently outcropped on the sides of many hills in the region and in addition to garnets of various colors they found prehnite and epidote specimens. Perhaps the best and most prolific of the prehnite localities were the hillside diggings about five kilometers north of Bendoukou village in the Kays region of Mali. Local diggers started producing tons of Prehnite which sometimes contained a good portion of nice specimen material. This material was taken to Bamako, the capitol of Mali and from there sold to whoever would pay the best price. Most of the material was put in containers and sent to China as fodder for their big Lapidary factories to be turned into beads and small carvings of various kinds. Over several years we bought several thousand pounds of prehnite, garnet and epidote specimens and the best of them were really spectacular. Especially desirable were the combination pieces of black epidote crystals with balls of green prehnite growing on them. Many of the prehnite specimens were in the form of complete balls of Prehnite or several of these balls that had grown together. As time passed other localities for prehnite and garnets were found in the various skarns of the region and I am sure as more time passes, there will be more localities that will each produce a somewhat different flavors of prehnite, garnets, epidotes and other related minerals.
Prehnite
Mali
Kayes Region, Nioro du Sahel Circle, Sandaré
These specimens were produced from a locality similar to the one described above.
Prehnite
Morocco
Meknès-Tafilalet Region, Er Rachidia Province, High Atlas Mts, Imilchil
We need someone to tell us about the specimens produced at this locality.
Prehnite
Morocco
Oriental Region, Figuig Province, Bou Arfa, Djebel Melh
We need someone to tell us about the specimens produced by this locality.
Prehnite
Morocco
Taza-Al Hoceïma-Taounate Region, Taza, Taza Province
We need someone to tell us about the specimens produced at this locality.
Prehnite
Namibia
Erongo Region, Brandberg District, Brandberg area
I think Charles Key got many of the good prehnite specimens from this locality that have made their way to the USA.
[Rock Currier 2009]
Prehnite
Namibia
Erongo Region, Brandberg District, Brandberg area, Goboboseb Mountains
I think Charles Key was responsible for many of the fine prehnite specimens that have found their way into the US market. They were never abundant, and the good ones quite rare.
Prehnite
Norway
Aust-Agder, Risør, Søndeled
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Norway
Aust-Agder, Risør, Søndeled, Ravneberget quarry
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Norway
Buskerud, Kongsberg
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Pakistan
Balochistan (Baluchistan)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Pakistan
North-West Frontier Province
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Pakistan
North-West Frontier Province, Malakand Region, Swat District (Swat Valley), Mullah Yusef
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Portugal
Leiria District, Monte Redondo, Leiria, Montijos Quarry
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Russia
Eastern-Siberian Region, Taymyrskiy Autonomous Okrug, Taimyr Peninsula, Putoran Plateau
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
South Africa, Republic of
Northern Cape Province, Calvinia, Zoetwater (Soetwater)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
South Africa, Republic of
Northern Cape Province, Kalahari manganese fields, N'Chwaning Mines
Some of these small prehnite specimens are amazing. The most striking thing about them is there orange color. I think that most of the ones that have made their way to the collectors in the USA were brought here by Charles Key who lives part of the time in Namibia. The locality is a stingy one and there were probably no more that two or three flats of this material found.
Prehnite
Spain
Andalusia, Jaén, Carchelejo, Oficarsa Quarry (Cerro de las Culebras)
The prehnites from Spain can be surprisingly good. We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Spain
Andalusia, Seville, Lebrija
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Switzerland
Grischun (Grisons; Graubünden)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
Tanzania
Arusha Region, Lelatema Mts, Merelani Hills (Mererani)
When these yellow prehnites were first found, they were thought to be Adamite crystals. Some have even been found growing on purple crystals of tanzanite. We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
United Kingdom
Scotland, Central Region (Stirlingshire), Campsie Fells
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
United Kingdom
Scotland, North West Highlands (Inverness-shire), Isle of Skye, Soay Sound, Sgurr nan Cearcall
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
United Kingdom
Scotland, Strathclyde (Ayrshire), Beith, Loanhead Quarry
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
United Kingdom
Wales, Pembrokeshire (Dyfed), St David's Head, Quartz vein outcrop
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
Connecticut, Connecticut, East Granby, Roncari quarry (Tilcon quarry)
Better known from this quarry are its specimens of Datolite specimens, but the quarry has produced some very fine combination specimens. I know one old ex quarry worker that has a whole basement full of specimens from this quarry that will someday come to market or be thrown out on the dump.
[Rock Currier]
Prehnite
USA
Connecticut, Litchfield Co., Woodbury, O & G Woodbury Quarry (Orenaug Quarry; O & G No. 1 Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
Connecticut, New Haven Co., Southbury, O & G Southbury Quarry (Silliman Quarry; O & G No. 2 Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
Maine, Knox Co., Thomaston, Old Country Road locality
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
Maine, Washington Co., Calais
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
Massachusetts, Northfield, Franklin Co., Lane's Quarry
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Hampshire, Merrimack Co., Warner, Prehnite locality
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Bergen Co., Fort Lee
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Essex Co., Livingston, Riker Hill
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Haledon, Braen Quarry (Braen Stone Industry Quarry; Sam Braen Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Little Falls Township, Great Notch
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Paterson, Hoxie's Quarry
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Paterson, Lower New Street quarry
Lower New Street quarry is one of the old time localities that has been abandoned for years and though plans to build on the site were made, the quarry is still there and local collectors manage to find a few things from time to time. Lower New Street is the quarry that produced the best examples of the so called Prehnite snake head casts after anhydrite that collectors of New Jersey trap rock minerals revere. Ernest Weidhaas of Mt. Vernon New York seemed to have the lions share of the best ones I saw and some of the best are pictures above including the great one that he paid the equivalent price of a new care back in the 50s.
Notice that some of the Prehnite snake head casts and some of the other prehnite specimens look dirty. They have little speckles of stuff on them. You may also notice that many of my other pictures (the ones with the little one inch brass scale bar at the bottom) look dirty. On some of them you can actually see dirt down in the cracks of the specimens. That is because there were taken of old time specimens in old collections. More than about 20 years ago, collectors, dealers and curators did not have the wonderful little high pressure "fabric" guns that shoot streams of high pressure water that are commonly used today to clean up specimens and are so adroit at ferreting dirt out of every little crack. About the best they had back then were little brushes of various kinds that were really not very good at cleaning up specimens. I took these pictures mostly in museums and old collections, and it was not practical to clean them or often polite to suggest that their specimens were dirty and needed cleaning. Many of todays dealers make a lot of money by doing nothing more than blasting the dirt off of old specimens.
[Rock Currier 2009]
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Paterson, Upper New Street Quarry (Burger's Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this locality.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., Prospect Park, Prospect Park Quarry (Sowerbutt Quarry; Vandermade Quarry; Warren Brothers Quarry)
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This locality is probably the best known of all the New Jersey trap rock quarries. It has been producing specimens for more than 75 years but will probably close down in the next five or ten years. Only the upper level in the quarry has produced good specimens and the lower levels and the underlying sandstone has been encountered on the lowest level. The quarry has produced many tons of prehnite specimens as well as fine Datolites, Analcime, Pectolites, Thompsonites as well as good Calcites, Natrolites and others. It has even produced at least one amazing small wire silver specimen. This quarry and others in the region have attracted many field collectors and many of these collectors have gone on to become well known dealers, curators and authors. George Kunz, John Sinkankas, Charles Key, and Richard Kosnar are just a few of the hoard of the better known people that the trap rock quarries have produced.
Often the prehnite specimens from this quarry show signs of being casts after anhydrite and glauberite that were apparently at one time common in the amygdaloids of the Watchung trap rocks and crystallized before the "zeolite" minerals. The anhydrite casts are rectangular in cross section, often very flat rectangles and often look like knife slashes on the backs of the Prehintie specimens. The glauberite casts are less often seen and their casts are often diamond shaped. Both kinds can be seen in specimens from this and other quarries.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., West Paterson, Pumping Station, McBride Ave. & Browertown Rd.
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this quarry.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Passaic Co., West Paterson, Union Building and Construction Quarry (UBC Quarry; Tilcon Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this quarry.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Somerset Co., Bernards Township, Millington Quarry (Morris County Crushed Stone Co. Quarry; Tilcon Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this quarry.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Somerset Co., Bridgewater Township, Chimney Rock Quarry (Houdaille Industries Quarry; The Bound Brook Quarry; Stavola Industries Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this quarry.
Prehnite
USA
New Jersey, Somerset Co., Watchung, Fanwood Crushed Stone Co. Quarry; Scotch Plains Quarry; Weldon Quarry)
This quarry has been productive of mineral specimens for years and well know for producing chocolate brown heulandite crystals up to about 3 cm and stilbite spheres up to 6 cm in diameter, some of them bright orange, but probably the best things the quarry has produced are specimens of prehnite casts after heulandite. The first pocket in the quarry was found back in the late 1980s Mark Bianchi and this pocket produced hundreds of specimens but of somewhat lighter colored prehnite that the more recent one in 2003 or 4. This pocket was actually a string of interconnected pockets that was collected over a period of about a year. It was located up about 15 feet on the east wall of the quarry and ladders had to be used to reach and work on the pockets. Several hundred good specimens were collected.
[James Zigras 2009]
Prehnite
USA
North Carolina, Catawba Co., Martin Marietta Quarry (11th Street Quarry), Hickory
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this quarry.
Prehnite
USA
Pennsylvania, Lehigh Co., Coopersburg
This locality only produced a few specimens. I managed to find one for sale in a collection at Wards in Rochester, New York years ago. I gave it to Arthur Montgomery and though he wrote the Minerals of Pennsylvania, he did not have one in his collection or in the collection he curated at Lafayette college in New Jersey and was very happy to have one. We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this quarry.
Prehnite
USA
Rhode Island, Providence Co., Cumberland, Manville Quarry (Todesca Quarry; Forte Brothers Quarry)
We need someone to tell us about the specimens from this quarry.
Prehnite
USA
Virginia, Augusta Co., Centerville, Quarry (MRDS - 10154716)
This quarry is famous for probably the best apophyllite specimens ever found in the USA. Sometimes these slightly complex flower like white Apophyllites of up to 15 cm were found growing on a base of nice green prehnite. These were all collected by amateur collectors and though the find produced several hundred specimens, they have all gone away and are highly cherished by those collectors who have them. John Medici got collected some of the best ones. The pocket also produced some few wonderful prehnite specimens. Some were complete spheres of prehnite that had ridges around their equator and have sometimes been described as flying saucers or Roman helmets. The often had find black needles of actinolite or some black hair like amphabole mineral growing in them, sometimes to the point that the prehnite was almost black. One collector who collected in the pocket said that part of the pocket was filled with masses of this hair like material and some matrix specimens that he removed from the pocked he could turn upside down and shake these prehnite balls out of the hair.
Prehnite
USA
Virginia, Loudoun Co., Conklin, Bull Run Quarry
Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.
Edited 39 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2009 04:16PM by Rock Currier.
