Mineral Collection Images

My Mineral Collection, Systematic Inosilicates Page

These are my inosilicates. Inosilicates are chains of silicate tetrahedrons - either single-chain (SinO3n), double-chain (Si4O11 and Si8O22), or triple-chain (Si3O8) metasilicates. There are a lot of common inosilicates. The single-chain inosilicates include the pyroxene group and the double-chain inosilicates include the amphibole supergroup.
Inosilicates on Other Pages
Apachite, litidionite, plancheite, and shattuckite are on my copper minerals page. Alamosite is on my lead minerals page. Also, see tschermakite on my gemstones page. Because it is now an unclassified silicate, denisovite is on my miscellaneous page.
Specimens on This Page (links take you to either the first or only specimen)
actinolite (and varieties byssolite and nephrite (jade)), aegirine (and variety acmite), aegirine-augite (variety blanfordite), aenigmatite (and variety cossyrite), aerinite, altisite, anthophyllite (and variety Hermanov's Ball), arfvedsonite (and variety juddite), astrophyllite, augite babingtonite (and rare variety barkevite), balangeroite, barroisite, bavenite, bustamite carpholite, cascandite, caysichite-(Y), charoite, chkalovite, clino-actinolite, clinoenstatite, clinoholmquistite, crestmoreite, crossite, cummingtonite diopside (and varieties chrome diopside, coccolite, sahlite, schefferite, tashmarine, traversellite, and violane), donpeacorite eckermannite, edenite, elpidite (and variety calcian elpidite), emeleusite, enstatite, epididymite, ershovite, esseneite, eveslogite ferri-fluoro-leakeite, ferri-kaersutite, ferri-katophorite, ferri-obertiite, ferri-winchite, ferro-actinolite, ferrocarpholite, ferro-ferri-pedrizite, ferro-ferri-winchite, ferro-gedrite, ferronordite-(Ce), ferrosilite, fluoro-edenite, fluoro-magnesiohastingsite, fluoro-richterite, foshagite, frankamenite gageite, gedrite, grunerite (variety amosite) hastingsite, hedenbergite, hilairite, hillebrandite, hřgtuvaite, holmquistite, hornblende, howieite, howlite, hydroastrophyllite, hypersthene inesite, (also see an inesite "bowtie" on my sorosilicates page) jennite, johannsenite, jonesite kaersutite, kosmochlor, kupletskite, kupletskite-(Cs) lemoynite, leucophanite, lintisite, lobanovite, lorenzenite (and variety ramsayite) magnesiocarpholite, magnesiohastingsite, magnesioriebeckite, manaksite, mangano-ferri-eckermannite, manganogrunerite, marsturite, meliphanite, miserite namansilite, narsarsukite, natalyite, natrolemoynite, natronambulite, niobokupletskite, niobophyllite, noonkanbahite okenite, orlymanite, oxo-magnesio-hastingsite paraumbite, pargasite, parvowinchite, pectolite ( and varieties lorimar and schizolite), petedunnite, pigeonite, plombierite, potassic-chloro-pargasite, potassic-fluororichterite (two specimens; one purple-black with translucent edges and one gemmy light-yellow), potassic-pargasite, proto-ferro-suenoite, pyroxmangite revdite, rhodonite ( and variety fowlerite), rhonite, richterite, riebeckite (and varieties crocidolite and pietersite), riversideite santaclaraite, sapphirine, sazykinaite-(Y), scandiobabingtonite, scheuchzerite, seidite-(Ce), sérandite, serendibite, shcherbakovite, spodumene (varieties hiddenite and kunzite, including "blue kunzite"), stokesite tadzhikite-(Ce), taneyamalite, taramite, terskite, tinaksite, tirodite, tobermorite, tokkoite, tremolite (varieties chrome tremolite and hexagonite), tuhualite umbite, ungarettiite vanadiocarpholite, vinogradovite, vlasovite welshite, winchite, wollastonite (and polymorphs parawollastonite, wollastonite-2R, and wollastonite-3A) xonotlite yuksporite zektzerite, zorite
Inosilicate Info
I've placed the spodumenes here because, though hard and transparent enough to be gemstones, their perfect cleavage and splintery fractures make them very difficult to cut; most faceters won't even try.

91 Rows
Actinolite A miniature of dark-green actinolite needles in talc from the Liberty Lake Mine, Sykesville, Maryland. Thanks to Keith Robertson's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Actinolite A thumbnail of dark blue actinolite (an iron calcium magnesium hydroxysilicate) bundled fibers in matrix from the Del Puerto Canyon, near Patterson, Stanislaus County, California. Actinolite is usually considered to be the midmember of the tremolite-ferroactinolite series. Thanks to Tom Lettier and Ken Balthazor's (The California Crystal Connection) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Actinolite An old miniature of somewhat gemmy green actinolite crystals from somewhere in Peru. Thanks to Chuck & Cheri Durbin's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 2
Actinolite An excellent old small-cabinet specimen of actinolite from Auchtertyre, Ross-Shire, North West Highlands, Scotland. There's a few unidentified tiny dark-red garnets in amongst the actinolite. It has a Galloway Gems (King Street, Castle Douglas) tag. Thanks to Brian McManus at the Pebble Peddler for the specimen and the images!	Actinolite, var. Byssolite Very fine fibers of actinolite (or tremolite) are called byssolite - this miniature from (probably the Keystone Trap Rock) Quarry, Cornog, Pennsylvania also has micro pyrites and some adularia. Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Actinolite, var. Byssolite on Chlorite on Prehnite A miniature of fuzzy, matted byssolite on chlorite on prehnite from the Fairfax Quarry, Centreville, Fairfax County, Virginia. Neither the green chlorite nor the green prehnite shows up well - the larger picture (bottom) was taken under fluorescent lighting (only) to pick up the green prehnite. Thanks to Wayne Bloechl's (GeoJoe's) auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 3
Actinolite, var. Byssolite A thumbnail of beautiful rust-colored byssolite fibers on matrix from the Keystone Trap Rock Quarry, Cornog, Penssylvania. Thanks to Don Smoley's Minerals & Gems' table at the 2001 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!	Actinolite, var. Nephrite Nephrite is the name given to massive compacted fibrous actinolite. It's also one of the two minerals called "jade" (jadeite's the other, rarer one). This beautiful 3˝" slab comes from the Cassiar Mine near Provencher Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The larger image shows it backlit. Thanks to Leland Goodwin's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Aegirine A thumbnail of aegirine (sodium iron metasilicate) from Mount Malosa, Zomba Malawi.
Row 4
Aegirine Small dark green aegirine needles cover a cluster of orthoclase crystals in the miniature also from Mount Malosa. I like to call this crabgrass aegirine! Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!	Aegirine A lustrous black (the purple is a reflection) 5cm single aegirine crystal. The closeup shows the end view of this pyroxene from Mount Malosa. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen!	Aegirine Another aegirine crystal - this miniature from Mali, Africa, has a doubly-terminated smoky quartz crystal bisecting it. Thanks to G. Stacy's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 5
Aegirine on Charoite A beautiful miniature of radial aegirine on charoite from the type locality for charoite - the Murun Massif, Yakutsk, Russia. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images!	Aegirine Another beautiful aegirine radiating cluster, with eudialyte - this small cabinet's from Mount Kedykverpakhk, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast', Russia. Thanks to Spirifer Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Aegirine, var. Acmite Aegirine and acmite are generally synonymous, but I prefer to use acmite when referring to the sharply-terminated aegirines, as in this old (1935) miniature from Magnet Cove, Hot Spring County, Arkansas. Thanks to Kim & Cindy Strange's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 6
Aegirine-augite var., Blanfordite A good small-cabinet specimen of pinkish-lavender blanfordite (manganoan aegirine-augite) crystals in braunite from arguably the varietal type locality of the Tirodi Mine, Tirodi, Balaghat District, Madhya Pradesh, India. The amphiboles from this area are very complicated and vary widely in composition, even within specimens - see the MinDat article for a summary. I'm staying with blanfordite in braunite for mine. Thanks to Jonathan Green's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Aenigmatite Aenigmatite (an iron sodium titanium silicate) almost shouldn't be an inosilicate - its chains branch left and right alternately at intervals. This miniature of lamellar aenigmatite comes from Mount Eveslogchorr, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Aenigmatite, var. Cossyrite Tiny aenigmatite crystals on a white matrix from Pantelleria Island (Cossyra), Trapani Province, Sicily, Italy have long been called "cossyrite". Cossyrite was also thought to be titanium-free and iron-rich but later analyses showed it to be just aenigmatite. This large micro with a sanidine matrix dates from 15 Dec 1981. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 7
Aerinite Aerinite (from the Greek "blue sky") has only recently been recognized (1988) as a distinct mineral and this small cabinet specimen, as do most of them, comes from near the Estopińán Dam in the Pyrenees Mountains, Huesca Province, Aragón, Spain. It's a very complex hydrated carbonatosilicate. Aerinite is a historical pigment - especially during the Spanish Romanesque period - and "burnt" aerinite pigment is a greener blue. Aerinite inclusions create the beautiful "blue quartz" of Antequera, Málaga, Spain. Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Aerinite Another aerinite from the Estopińán Dam area - this micro shows the beautiful deep blue color of fibrous aerinite. Thanks to Chris Stefano's Christopher J. Stefano Fine Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Aerinite An aerinite that's NOT from Spain - this miniature comes from St Pandelon, Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. Thanks to Jean-Pierre Ulmet's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row
Agrellite Agrellite is a calcium sodium fluorotetrasilicate. This miniature of massive agrellite comes from the type locality of the Kipawa river, Villedieu Township, Temiscamingue County, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to Marcus Origlieri's The Mineral Zone auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Altisite A capsule of very rare altisite (a potassium titanium sodium aluminosilicate) fragments from the type and only locality of Olenii Ruchei, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Ex: Phillips Collection and was originally from Dr. A.P. Khomyakov of Russia (1998) and has his tag (see larger image). It also has a Cureton Minerals tag. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!	Anthophyllite Anthophyllite's a rare magnesium asbestos - this miniature is from the old Pelham asbestos mine in Pelham, Massachusetts. It was collected by Eric Greene in 1987. Anthophyllite is dimorphous with cummingtonite and forms a series with ferro-anthophyllite, where iron replaces the magnesium. Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 9
Anthophyllite A small miniature of red anthophyllite on matrix from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Ex: Don Schmerling Collection. Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Anthophyllite, var. Hermanov's Ball At Hermanov in the Czech Republic, radial coatings of anthophyllite cover balls of phlogopite [small cabinet]. Thanks to Wayne Rudolph's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Arfvedsonite Bladed arfvedsonite (a sodium ferrosoferric hydroxysilicate) intergrown with microcline from Mount Malosa, Zomba, Malawi, South Africa. This thumbnail is from the C. S. Queit collection. It forms a series with Magnesio-arfvedsonite, where magnesium replaces the ferrous iron. Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 10
Arfvedsonite This miniatute of black arfvedsonite cblades and gray quartz in albite comes from Hurricane Mountain in Conway, New Hampshire. Thanks to Lee Rogers' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Arfvedsonite A sharp, lustrous 47mm arfvedsonite crystal from the 2013 find in Jebel Ewargizen, Imilchil, High Atlas Mts., Morocco. Thanks to the Bijak's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Arfvedsonite, var. Juddite A small miniature of red juddite on braunite from the Tirodi Mine, Tirodi, Balaghat District, Madhya Pradesh, India. Juddite is the manganoan variety of arfvedsonite, containing up to 7.7% MnO (replacing the ferrous iron). Thanks to Jonathan Green's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 11
Astrophyllite The astrophyllite in this miniature from the Khibiny Mountains, Kola Peninsula, Murmansk Oblast, Russia looks like copper! Astrophyllite's a difficult mineral to classify in the silicate subgroups - some put it here, others put it with the phyllosilicates. It forms a series with kupletskite. Thanks to Aksel Österlöf for the location update!	Astrophyllite An excellent micro of reddish-brown astrophyllite from the type locality of Lĺven, Langesundsfjorden, Larvik, Vestfold, Norway. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Augite A classic small single crystal of augite - one of the pyroxene subfamily. I've had a bunch of these since I was a kid.
Row 12
Babingtonite A miniature of black babingtonite (a calcium ferrosoferric manganese hydroxysilicate) on quartz from Montecatini Quarry Baveno, Lake Maggiore, Piedmont, Italy. It forms a series with manganbabingtonite, where manganese predominates over ferrous iron. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!	Babingtonite Black wedge-shape babingtonite crystals in a pale green prehnite matrix from the classic locality of the Lane & Sons Traprock Quarries, Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts. Babingtonite is the Massachusetts state mineral. Thanks to Veronica Matthew's auction on eBay for the specimen! Thanks also to Eric Greene for the locale correction!	Babingtonite, var. Barkevite Most babingtonite crystals are somewhat equant - the more acicular habit is called barkevite. It only occurs in four places; Sweden, the Swiss Alps, the area of the Lucky "S" Gold Mine on Queen Mountain in Plumas County, California, and one known exposed dike in the Camptonite intrusive formations in the Suislaw National Forest near Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon, where this miniature of black barkevite, gray augite, and microcrystalline quartz is from. Note: This is not to be confused with barkevikite, the colloquial name for ferro-edenite. Thanks to Leland Goodwin for the specimen!
Row 13
Balangeroite An excellent thumbnail of light-brown balangeroite (a ferrosoferric magnesium manganese hydroxysilicate) fibers from the type locality of the Poggio San Vittore (asbestos mine), Balangero, Lanzo Valley, Torino Province, Piedmont, Italy. Ex: David Shannon Collection. Balangerote is considered one of the asbestoses. Thanks to Ron Sloto's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Barroisite Barroisite's a double-chain magnesium aluminum calcium sodium iron silicate and forms a series with ferro-barroisite. This miniature of platy barroisite crystals on matrix is from Monte Beigua, Varazze and Sassello, Savona Province, Liguria, Italy. Thanks to Helmut Braith's auction on eBay for the specimen and image!	Bavenite A massive fibrous thumbnail of bavenite (a calcium beryllium hydroxyaluminosilicate) from the granite quarry at Striegau, Lower Silesia, Poland. Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 14
Bavenite Bavenite also occurs in bladed colorless crystals, as in this (miniature) second of only two specimens found during a 1999 field trip to the Middle General Electric Quarry, Buckfield, Oxford County, Maine. Thanks to Van King's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Bavenite A cute miniature of fluffy bavenite frosting an epidote cluster from Strzegom, Swidnica District, Strzegom-Sobótka Massif, Lower Silesia, Poland. Thanks to Krzysztof Dembicz' Spirifer Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Bavenite A good micro of a bavenite cluster on albite from Pizzo Marcio, Trontano, Vigezzo Valley, Ossola Valley, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province, Piedmont, Italy. The micro has a 1996 tag. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 15
Bustamite A beautiful translucent miniature of massive bustamite (calcium manganese metasilicate) from Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. Bustamite's one of the many manganese silicates (a triple chain); it also has a bit (8%) of calcium and it forms an incomplete series with ferrobustamite. Thanks to SoCal Nevada's auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Bustamite An old small-cabinet chunk of pink bustamite from the Kalahari manganese field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Thanks to the Astro Gallery of Gems auction on eBay for the specimen!	Carpholite A carpholite miniature (from the Greek karphos - "straw" and lithos - "stone", a manganese aluminum hydroxysilicate) with a few very small light purple fluorites from the type locality of the Schlaggenwald, Bohemia, Czech Republic. It forms a complete series with Ferrocarpholite and an incomplete one with Magnesiocarpholite. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!
Row 16
Carpholite A wonderful old miniature of yellow sprays of carpholite on quartz, also most likely from the type locality of the Schlaggenwald. Ex: Lawrence H. Conklin 1994. Ex: John I. Legro Collection #658, (Rochester, NH) $20. Thanks to Christopher O'Neill's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Cascandite and Scandiobabingtonite Cascandite (a calcium scandium iron hydroxysilicate) and scandiobabingtonite from the Heftetjern pegmatite, Třrdal, Drangedal, Telemark, Norway are intergrown in submillimeter crystals and appear a pale grayish-green in this miniature. Scandiobabingtonite is the scandium analog of babingtonite where scandium replaces the ferric iron. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Caysichite-(Y) An excellent miniature of off-white, earthy crust of caysichite-(Y) (a hydrated yttrium calcium carbonatohydroxysilicate) adhering to fractures and open spaces in quartz from the type locality of the Evans-Lou mine, Lac Saint-Pierre (Wakefield Lake), Val-des-Monts, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais RCM, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. Ex. Basil Halhed and Paulo Matioli collections with labels. Thanks to Rob Lavinsky at The Arkenstone for the specimen and the images!
Row 17
Charoite A beautiful miniature block of charoite - the lilac miracle of Siberia - from the type and only locality of the Murunskii Massif, Chara and Tokko Rivers Confluence, Aldan Shield, Sakha Republic, Russia. It's a very complex hydrated calcium potassium silicate - the color is due to Mn+3 and Mn+2 impurities. Charoite almost completely (>95%) decomposes to wollastonite upon heating above 900°C.	Chkalovite A micro of massive yellowish-white chkalovite (a sodium beryllium silicate) from Koashva Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Clino-actinolite An excellent old thumbnail of greenish-black clinoactinolite from the Joanisse Property, Masham, Quebec, Canada. Ex: Wendy and Frank Melanson thumbnail collection (NR 10-12) with a Jerry Van Velthuizen, Wilson Corners, Ontario $10 tag. This is a mystery mineral - the is no clino-actinolite on the Web and MinDat never heard of either Masham or the Joanisse Property there. Thanks to Dave Bunk's (Dave Bunk Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 18
Clinoenstatite A small miniature of lustrous dark-brownish-green clinoenstatite from Bamble, Telemark, Norway. It's the monoclinic polymorph of orthorhombic enstatite. Thanks to Brad Hilken's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Clinoholmquistite Two small miniatures of dark-blue fibrous clinoholmquistite (an iron aluminum magnesium lithium hydroxysilicate) in matrix from somewhere in New Mexico. It's now called fluoro-pedrizite. Thanks to Rick Dillinger's auction on eBay for the specimens!	Crossite Crossite's a fairly rare mineral (an iron magnesium sodium aluminum hydroxysilicate) - this miniature from Hallberg, Salzburg, Austria has two habits; most of the vein is massive, but there are a few clusters of acicular crystals (top right). Some references consider crossite to be a riebeckite-glaucophane intermediate. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!
Row 19
Crossite A thumbnail of crisscrossing crossite fibers in matrix from Skaggs Springs, Warm Springs Dam, Coast Range, Sonoma County, California. Thanks to Tom Lettier and Ken Balthazor's (The California Crystal Connection) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Cummingtonite A large miniature of radiating silky brown crystalline sprays of cummingtonite in schist-like matrix from West Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts (almost type locality material!). Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Diopside A beautiful cluster of doubly-terminated, near gemmy, green diopside (calcium magnesium silicate) from Wilberforce, Ontairo, Canada. It forms a series with hedenbergite and johannsenite. Thanks to Sharon Burnett's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 20
Diopside Pale peach-colored diopside sprays from Fort Point, San Francisco, California. Thanks to Tom Lettier and Ken Balthazor's (The California Crystal Connection) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Diopside Dark green phlogopite mica decorates the top of this sage green diopside cluster from Dog Lake, Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada. Thanks to Tom Klinepeter's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Diopside Gemmy green diopside crystals on matrix comprise this miniature from Arondu, Basha Valley, Baltistan, Pakistan. Thanks to Graeber & Himes' table at the 2001 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!
Row 21
Diopside A pretty miniature of blocky light green diopside on massive deep pink grossular from the famous Jeffrey Quarry, Asbestos, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen!	Diopside A miniature of pale green diopside on matrix from Eden Mills, Lamoille County, Vermont. There's also a little bit of amber vesuvianite (larger image, bottom) present. Thanks to Frank Boone & Joseph Miller's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Diopside A bright green 64mm single crystal of diopside (possibly chrome diopside) from an unknown location.
Row 22
Diopside A beautiful miniature of glossy diopside and white calcite from Alta, Finnmark, Norway. Thanks to Jan Garland's (Fine Rocks) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Diopside A beautiful micro of colorless transparent diopside crystals on matrix from the San Vito quarry, San Vito, Ercolano, Monte Somma, Somma-Vesuvius Complex, Naples Province, Campania, Italy. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Diopside A beautiful golden-yellow diopside crystal from Sherbrooke, Estrie, Québec, Canada. Ex: Annabel McGraw Collection. Thanks to Ken DeMary's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 23
Diopside A weathered blocky, light-brown diopside crystal from the Dog Lake occurrence, Storrington Township, Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada. All of the diopsides from this locale look similar to this - some are a little sharper. Thanks to Richard H. Deitch's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Diopside A good miniature of white diopside crystals on matrix from the Jeffrey Mine, Asbestos, Les Sources RCM, Estrie, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to Michel Montpetit's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Diopside An excellent micro of orange diopside crystals from the Aguas Verdes Mine, Pullo, Parinacochas Province, Ayacucho Department, Peru. Thanks to Dr. Victoria Borner's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 24
Diopside A large miniature of light-green diopside crystals in matrix from the Koksha Valley, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. The color is a bright-enough green that these may be chrome diopside. Thanks to A. Hameed's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Diopside An excellent thumbnail of a diopside cluster from Gooderham, Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada. Ex: H. L. Prior Collection. Thanks to Hal & Polly Prior's (H&P Minerals and Gems) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Diopside, var. Chrome Diopside A beautiful 17mm chrome diopside (the chromium-containing variety) crystal from Afghanistan. Note: It now appears that vanadium is the chromophore in "chrome" diopsides - most, if not all, of the chromium occurs as chromite inclusions, which do not affect the color. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images!
Row 25
Diopside, var. Chrome Diopside A large cabinet specimen of chrome diopside crystals in a calcite matrix from Brazil.	Diopside, var. Coccolite When diopside occurs as tiny grains, singly or aggregated together, it's called coccolite. This miniature of coccolite in blue quartz was collected in the early 60s at Cascade Lakes, Keene, Essex County, New York. Ex: Donald L. Schuder Collection. Coccolites are typically iron-rich. Thanks to David L. Schuder's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Diopside var. Sahlite An old sharp blocky sahlite (light-olive to light-brown diopside) crystal from Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway. The Schortmann's label ($1.50) dates it to at least between 1938 and 1960 (the address is pre-1960; the 36x73mm card nearer to 1938). Sahlites are typically iron-rich. Thanks to Jasun McAvoy's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 26
Diopside, var. Schefferite Schefferite is the name given to the manganese-containing diopside found at the varietal type locality of Lĺngban, Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden. This miniature comprises brown schefferite in white hedyphane (a lead calcium chloroarsenate). Lĺngban is also the type locality for hedyphane. Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Diopside, var. Tashmarine A 25.59ct light-blue-green tashmarine from the varietal type locality of Xinjiang Province, China. When tashmarine first appeared in 2001 it was expected to be another pricey gemstone - SG is 3.23 to 3.29 and the refractive index is 1.675 to 1.701. $50 to $250 per carat for sizes up to five carats. Sizes above five carats are priced individually: prices could be as much as $500 per carat or even more. I don't think there were ever enough found as they quickly disappeared from the market. I do have a 0.76 ct cushion cut. Thanks to Darlene Cobler's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Diopside, var. Traversellite An excellent miniature of traversellite (tan-tipped altered diopside) from the varietal type locality of the Traversella Mine, Traversella, Chiusella Valley, Canavese District, Torino Province, Piedmont, Italy. Thanks to Erik Timmer's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 27
Diopside, var. Violane Diopside colored lavender by manganese is called violane (or violan) - this one's from historic Fort Point, San Francisco, California and is mixed in with the more normal green variety. Thanks to Tom Lettier and Ken Balthazor's (The California Crystal Connection) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Diopside, var. Violane Deep-violet violane crystals in matrix comprise this miniature from the varietal type locality of the Prabornaz Mine, Saint-Marcel, Aosta Valley, Italy. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Donpeacorite A miniature of brown donpeacorite (a manganese magnesium metasilicate) crystals in hexagonite from the co-type locality of the Vanderbilt General Mine, Balmat, Gouvernor, St Lawrence County, New York. It's dimorphou with kanoite. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 28
Eckermannite Dark-green elongated prisms of eckermannite (a magnesium sodium aluminum hydroxysilicate) in matrix from the type locality of Norra Kärr, Gränna, Smĺland, Sweden. It forms a series with ferro-eckermannite, where iron replaces the magnesium. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Edenite This usually green member of the hornblende family is called edenite - these (large photo) are from the type locality, Edenville, Orange County, New York. Thanks to Frank Yolton's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Edenite A handsome small cabinet specimen of gray and bluish-gray edenite sprays from Mont Ibity, Antsirabe, Madagascar Thanks to Tom Klinepeter's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 29
Elpidite Most elpidite (a hydrated sodium zirconium silicate) specimens come from Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. They're generally accompanied by many other minerals (as here) that are very hard to identify. I have two of them (larger image) and they're fascinating to look at under a magnifier! Thanks to Brian McManus at the Pebble Peddler for the earlier specimen, (top row, larger picture) and Todd & Tammy Roen's auction on eBay for the newer specimen (bottom row, larger picture)!	Elpidite, var. Calcian Elpidite A good miniature of orange-red calcian elpidite (where calcium replaces part of the sodium) grains in matrix from the Khan Bogdo Massif, Gobi, Mongolia. Thanks to Jacek & Jaroslaw Skupienski's (Geo-Trader) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Emeleusite A good micro of massive grayish emeleusite (an iron sodium lithium silicate) with probable black aegirine clusters from the type locality of Illutalik Island, Ilimaussaq complex, Narsaq, Kitaa Province, Greenland. It's a member of the tuhualite group. Thanks to Amanda Larson's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 30
Enstatite This is a small piece of enstatite (magnesium metasilicate) that's clear enough to be facetable - it's from Morogoro, Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania, Africa. Enstatite's dimorphous with clinoenstatite and forms a series with ferrosilite, where iron replaces some of the magnesium. Thanks to Mark Stevens' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Epididymite From the Winter 2003 find at Mont St. Hilaire, Québec, Canada, comes this esthetic epididymite (a sodium beryllium hydroxysilicate) thumbnail cluster on aegirine. It's dimorphic with eudidymite. Thanks to Arnaldo Brunetti's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Ershovite An excellent miniature of light-brown ershovite (a hydrated potassium sodium iron manganese titanium hydroxysilicate) crystals on matrix with black aegirine from the Tsentral'nyi mine, It's the Fe+2 analog of paraershovite. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!
Row 31
Esseneite A good micro of an orange-brown esseneite (an iron calcium aluminum silicate) coating on matrix from Coal mine no. 45, Kopeisk, Chelyabinsk, Urals Region, Russia. It's the Fe+3 analog of burnettite (V), davisite (Sc), grossmanite (Ti+3), and kushiroite (Al). Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Eveslogite An excellent micro of fibrous brown eveslogite (a complex calcium potassium silicate) on matrix from the type locality of the Fersman Gorge, Eveslogchorr Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Ferri-fluoro-leakeite A good micro of black ferri-fluoro-leakeite (an iron sodium manganese silicate) crystal fragments in matrix from Norra Karr, Granna, Jonkoping, Smaland, Sweden. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 32
Ferri-kaersutite An excellent small miniature of shiny brown ferri-kaersutite (a magnesium calcium ferrosoferric titanium silicate) crystals on matrix from Rothenberg, Bell, Mendig, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 2012 it's named oxo-magnesio-hastingsite. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Ferri-katophorite A large miniature of black ferri-katophorite (an iron sodium calcium magnesium aluminosilicate) crystal aggregates in a nepheline-rich matrix with pink eudialyte from the Kipawa alkaline complex, Les Lacs-du-Témiscamingue, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Québec, Canada. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Ferri-obertiite An excellent miniature of pink ferri-obertiite (a magnesium sodium iron titanium silicate) on matrix from the type locality of Rothenberg, Bell, Mendig, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. This specimen was XRD-confirmed. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 33
Ferri-winchite A large micro of a greenish-black ferri-winchite (a ferrosoferric magnesium sodium calcium silicate) crystal fragment from the type locality of the Ilmenogorsky alkaline complex, Ilmen Mts, Chelyabinsk, Southern Urals, Russia. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Ferro-actinolite This cluster of ferro-actinolite comes from Furtshagl, Zillertal, Tirol, Austria. It's the iron-rich end member of a series with tremolite, the magnesium-rich end member. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Ferro-actinolite A bright green miniature of parallel ferro-actinolite fibers from an unknown location. Thanks to Craig Hinegardner's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 34
Ferrocarpholite An excellent micro of pale-yellow fibrous ferrocarpholite (an iron hydroxyaluminosilicate) from the Wippra Metamorphic Zone, Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It forms a series with both carpholite and magnesiocarpholite. Ex: Ralph E. Merrill Collection (acquired from Broschek for $65 in 1988). Thanks to Michael Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Ferro-ferri-pedrizite An excellent large micro of black ferro-ferri-pedrizite (a ferrosoferric sodium lithium silicate) crystal clusters on matrix from the type and only locality of Arroyo de la Yedra, Manzanares el Real, Madrid, Spain. Thanks to Gabor Koller's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Ferro-ferri-winchite An excellent miniature of black ferro-ferri-winchite (a ferrosoferric calcium magnesium sodium silicate) and light-pink rhodonite from the small, long-abandoned iron-manganese mine at Harstigen, Pajsberg, Persberg district, Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden. The ferro-ferri-winchites from here have been analyzed (1993) and found to contain up to 11% manganese (Mn+2 replacing Fe+2) - which would actually make this specimen a manganoan variety. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 35
Ferro-gedrite A good micro of grayish fibrous ferro-gedrite (a ferrosoferric aluminum hydroxyaluminosilicate) on matrix from the AMOSA Mine at Lydenburg, Eastern Bushveld Complex, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Fibrous gedrite like this is considered one of the asbestoses. Thanks to Dr. Victoria Borner's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Ferronordite-(Ce) A good micro of a light-yellowish-brown ferronordite-(Ce) crystal cluster (a cerium strontium sodium iron silicate) in an ussingite matrix from the Palitra pegmatite, Kedyk area, Karnasurt underground mine, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Red manganoneptunite often occurs in association but I don't see any here. It's the ferrous analog of nordite-(Ce) and manganonordite-(Ce) and also the cerium analog of ferronordite-(La). Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Ferrosilite An excellent micro of reddish-brown ferrosilite (iron magnesium silicate) crystals in matrix (larger image, bottom) from the Monte Calvario Quarry, Biancavilla, Catania Province, Sicilia, Italy. It forms a series with enstatite and is dimorphic with clinoferrosilite. Ideally, ferrosilite should apply to the totally ferrous silicate endmember - hypersthene is commonly used for the iron-magnesium mixed silicate. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the photo!
Row 36
Ferrosilite A beautiful miniature of black ferrosilite crystals in white albite with orange calcite from the Yates mine, Otter Lake, Pontiac RCM, Outaouais, Québec, Canada. Note that MinDat has ferrosilite crossed off their Yates mine page, so this may be something else. Thanks to Kevin Boulter's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Ferrosilite Another micro of reddish-brown blades of ferrosilite from Biancavilla, Etna Volcanic Complex, Catania Province, Sicily, Italy. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Fluoro-edenite An excellent micro of orangeish-yellow fluoro-edenite (a magnesium calcium sodium aluminosilicate) crystals on matrix from the type locality of Mt Calvario, Biancavilla, Etna Volcanic Complex, Catania Province, Sicily, Italy. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 37
Fluoro-magnesiohastingsite An excellent micro of reddish-brown fluoro-magnesiohastingsite (a complex iron calcium magnesium aluminosilicate) crystals on matrix from the type (and only) locality of a tachyandesite quarry near Deva, Aposei Mountains, Romania. This is an odd mineral - it doesn't form even an incomplete series with either magnesiohastingsite or hastingsite. Due to the 2012 nomenclature changes for amphiboles this is now called magnesio-fluoro-hastingsite. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Fluoro-richterite Fluoro-richterite is a rare calcium sodium magnesium silicate from near Wilberforce (Bancroft for this one), Ontario, Canada. As can be seen by the cross-sectional view, (larger image, third panel it's a member of the amphibole group. It's also the fluorine analog of richterite. Thanks to Walter Mroch's (The Gem and Mineral Exploration Company) auction for the specimen and the image!	Foshagite A miniature of matted fibrous foshagite (a triple-chain calcium hydroxysilicate) from the type locality of the Crestmore Quarries, Crestmore, Riverside County, California. It has a label from the Fred D'Esopo collection. Foshagite is the triclinic dimorph of orthorhombic trabzonite. Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 38
Foshagite A bladed aggregate micro of foshagite, also from Crestmore. Foshagite is one of the materials used in a novel gas / liquid cylinder packing structure (US Patent #20080090035). Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Frankamenite A rich miniature of grayish-lilac frankamenite (a calcium potassium sodium hydroxyfluosilicate) on matrix from the type locality of the Murunskii Massif, Chara and Tokko Rivers Confluence, Aldan Shield, Sakha Republic, Russia. It's a dimorph of fluorcanasite - these two synthetics (along with canasite) are under study as specialized glass-ceramics. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Gageite An excellent micro of pinkish-brown gageite (a manganese hydroxysilicate) on matrix from the Monte Nero Mine, Rocchetta Vara, La Spezia Province, Liguria, Italy. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 39
Gedrite A beautiful (for the species) large cabinet specimen of dark-green gedrite (a double-chain magnesium aluminum hydroxyaluminosilicate) stars in matrix from Skisshyttan, Västra Silvberg, Ludvika, Dalarna, Sweden. It forms a complete series with ferrogedrite, where iron replaces the magnesium. Thanks to Jonas Bredberg's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Glaucophane A beautiful miniature cluster of bluish-black glaucophane (a magnesium aluminum sodium hydroxysilicate) from the glaucophane outcrops along Rio Oremo, Chiavolino, Pollone, Biella Province, Piedmont, Italy. Thanks to the Bijak's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Grunerite, var. Amosite Here's an excellent miniature of grunerite (a double-chain iron hydroxysilicate) sprays on hematite from the Michigamme Mine in Marquette County, Michigan. This gray-green fibrous variety is often called "amosite", especially in the asbestos literature, and is one of the nastier asbestoses. Grunerite forms a series with cummingtonite, where magnesium replaces the iron and is dimorphic with ferro-anthophyllite . Thanks to Joe Vasichko's Rockmanjoe Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 40
Hastingsite An excellent thumbnail of white hastingsite (a ferrosoferric calcium sodium hydroxysilicate) from the Cape Calamita Mine, Capoliveri, Elba Island, Livorno Province, Tuscany, Italy. It forms a complete series with magnesiohastingsite where magnesium replaces the Fe+2. Thanks to Sue Silver's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Hedenbergite Actually, the only hedenbergite (calcium iron metasilicate) here is included in the quartz crystals, giving them that dark green coloration. The quartz shares the small cabinet matrix with black blades of hematite. Hedenbergite forms two series, one with diopside and one with johannsenite. This small cabinet piece comes from Mega Horio, Serifos Island, Greece. Thanks to Dan Wienrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen!	Hedenbergite Another specimen of hedenbergite - this miniature, with epidote after augite, comes from Tungsten Hills, Bishop, Inyo County, California. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!
Row 41
Hedenbergite A lustrous large micro of hedenbergite crystals from Owyhee County, Idaho - probably from the Laxey Mine. Thanks to Vivian Valentine's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Hilairite A few transparent tan crystals of rare hilairite (a six-chain hydrated zirconium sodium silicate) on matrix from the type locality of Mont St. Hilaire, Québec, Canada. It forms three incomplete series; one with calciohilairite where calcium replaces the sodium, pyatenkoite-(Y), where titanium replaces the zirconium, and sazykinaite-(Y), where yttrium replaces part of the zirconium. Thanks to Alexander Falster's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Hillebrandite An excellent micro of white fibrous hillebrandite (calcium hydroxysilicate) on matrix from An Nuqrah, Mintaqah Ha'il, Saudi Arabia. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 42
Høgtuvaite A miniature of two exposed crystals of black høgtuvaite (a complex aluminoberyllosilicate) in matrix from the type locality of Høgtuva, Mo i Rana, Altermark, Nordland, Norway. Thanks to Göran Axelsson's (Scandinavian Mineral Gallery) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Holmquistite Holmquistite's one of a series of double-chain lithium-bearing (magnesium aluminum) amphiboles and is dimorphous with clinoholmquistite and forms a series with ferroholmquistite where iron replaces the magnesium. This dark purplish-gray shimmery miniature (with small light blue translucent holmquistite, larger picture, right) is from the Foote Mine, Kings Mountain, Cleveland County, North Carolina. Thanks to Ron Sloto's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Holmquistite In most of its locales, holmquistite is fairly nondescript, but in 2005 these specimens of dark-green holmquistite starbursts in light-colored matrix from China hit the market. This large-cabinet one is from arguably the type locality for these, the Koktokay Pegmatite field in Fuyun County, Aletai Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. Thanks to the Astro Gallery of Gems auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 43
Hornblende A beautiful micro of reddish-brown hornblende from the Eifel Mts, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. I don't know which one of the hornblende family this is - the color and the locale narrow the choices, but not enough. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Howieite Glossy black blades of howieite, a double-chain complex iron hydroxysilicate, on matrix from the type locality of the Laytonville Quarry, five miles south of Laytonville in Mendocino County, California. Thanks to Don Goodell's auction on eBay for the specimen and image!	Howieite Sometimes howieite forms starbursts as in this beautiful miniature, also from Laytonville. Thanks to Elwin Trump's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 44
Hydroastrophyllite An excellent small miniature of reddish-brown hydroastrophyllite (a complex iron manganese titanosilicate) layers from Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi. Ex: Volkwein Collection #H1-30 and analyzed. Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's The NetMine auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Hypersthene Hypersthene's the middle member of the enstatite-ferrosilite series and is also dimorphous with clinohypersthene. This shimmery dark green miniature is from Mill Creek Canyon, San Bernardino County, California.	Hypersthene This small cabinet specimen of very rare hypersthene crystals in quartzite is from Summit Rock, Klamath County, Oregon. Hypersthene is often considered ferroan enstatite. It's deaccessioned from the Virginia Tech collection. Thanks to Keith & Patricia Wood's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 45
Hypersthene from Lac Onatchiway, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada.	Inesite Inesite's one of the many manganese (with calcium) silicates - here, in this specimen from the famous Hale Creek Mine, Trinity County, California, it's occuring as pink needles. Thanks to Dan Wienrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen and the image!	Inesite More inesite - this one's from the famous Wessels Mine, Kuruman, South Africa. There are many pinacoidally-truncated apophyllites sprinkled on top. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!
Row 46
Inesite An open cluster of inesite needles with hubeite from the Da Ye Mine (Dayan), Hubei, China. Thanks to Miao Yang's eauction on eBay for the specimen!	Inesite with Orlymanite A small cabinet plate of inesite with brown botryoidal orlymanite (a hydrated manganese calcium hydroxy(phyllo)silicate), for which this is the type locality, from the Kalahari Manganese field, Wessel Mine, Kuruman, Northern Cape, Republic of South Africa. Thanks to Debbie Woolf at Steiner's Rockshop's auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Inesite A beautiful inesite fan from the Fengjiashan Mine, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China. Thanks to John Landmesser's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 47
Jennite A nice thumbnail of white jennite (a hydrated calcium hydroxysilicate) from the type locality of the Crestmore Quarries, Crestmore, Riverside County, California. Jennite is one of the many C-S-H (calcium-silicate-hydrate) minerals that form during Portland-cement concrete formation. When heated to 70-90 °C, jennite loses four molecules of water and becomes metajennite. Thanks to Micah Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Johannsenite A lawn of brown johannsenite (a calcium manganese silicate) studded with quartz and axinite from the Iron Cap Mine, Graham County, Arizona. I have a flat of thumbnails from there. It forms a series with diopside and hedenbergite. Thanks to Brian McManus at the Pebble Peddler for the specimens!	Johannsenite A miniature of grayish-white johannsenite crystal clusters from the Borieva mine, Madan, Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria. The close-up (larger image, center, right) shows probable shiny black sphalerites amongst the johannsenite. Thanks to Krzysztof Dembicz' Spirifer Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 48
Jonesite An excellent micro of a colorless cluster of jonesite (a barium titanium potassium aluminosilicate) crystals on matrix from the type locality of the California State Gem Mine, New Idria District, San Benito County, California. Ex: Robert Rothenberg Collection. Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Kaersutite A small cabinet specimen of glossy black kaersutite (a complex magnesium titanium hydroxyaluminosilicate) crystal cleavages on matrix from approximately 10 miles east of Hoover Dam, Rt. 93 Road Cut, Mohave County, Arizona. It forms a series with Ferrokaersutite where iron replaces the magnesium. Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Kaersutite A classic thumbnail of brownish-black platy kaersutite in matrix from the type locality of Qaarsut (Kaersut), Uummannaq, Qaasuitsup, Greenland. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!
Row 49
Kosmochlor This is a polished section of kosmochlor (cosmochlore, ureyite, or, in the jewelry trade, mawsitsit) in a chromite matrix from Tawmaw, Kachin State, Burma. It's a (chemically) simple sodium chromium pyroxene that wasn't discovered until 1963 (in a Mexican meteorite!) and has only recently hit the gemstone market. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Kupletskite Kupletskite is a rare and complex (manganese, iron, potassium, titanium, niobium, sodium) single-chain hydroxysilicate that occurs as golden-brown blades and fibers on matrix - this miniature is from Junguni Hill, Zombe, Balaka, Malawi. It forms series with both astrophyllite and kupletskite-(Cs), where cesium replaces some of the potassium, and is the titanium analog of niobokupletskite, where the niobium content is greater than the titanium. Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Kupletskite-(Cs) An excellent micro of dark golden-brown kupletskite-(Cs) lamellar crystals in a feldspar-pyroxene matrix from the type and only locality of the Dara-i-Pioz ,Glacier, Tien Shan Mountains, Tajikistan. It's the cesium analog of kupletskite where cesium replaces most of the potassium. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 50
Lemoynite A pretty miniature of very rare yellow-beige lemoynite (a hydrated zirconium calcium potassium sodium silicate) flowers on matrix from the type locality of Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to Darrel Merke's (Proton Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Lemoynite Lemoyne typically forms white laths on matrix as in this second miniature from Mont Saint-Hilaire. Lemoynite is now classified as an inosilicate with a transitional phyllosilicate (ino-phyllosilicate) structure. Thanks to Darrel Merke's (Proton Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Leucophanite An excellent group of light-yellow leucophanite (a complex sodium calcium beryllium silicate) crystals on matrix from the Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Monteregie, Quebec, 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!
Row 51
Leucophanite A thumbnail of five leucophanite crystals on aegirine skewers also from Mont Saint-Hilaire. Thanks to Kerry Day's (Kaygeedee Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Lintisite A micro of white tufts of lintisite (a hydrated sodium lithium titanosilicate) on a pale-pink ussingite fragment from the Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Monteregie, Quebec. Thanks to Stefano Broetto's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Lobanovite An olive-green plate of lobanovite (a very complex titanosilicate of iron and magnesium) lies just above center in this rich miniature from the eastern slope of the co-type locality of Yukspor Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Lobanovite was called magnesioastrophyllite for almost twenty years but was only approved in 2015 under its new name. Associated with lobanovite on this specimen are gray nepheline, greenish-gray microcline, green fibrous aegirine, and orange-brown laths of lamprophyllite - the colors are faint in this photos. This was collected by Pavel Kartasov in 1998. Thanks to Pavel Kartasov's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 52
Lorenzenite There are a bunch of brown lorenzenite (a rare sodium titanium silicate) crystals in matrix along with dozens of black hornblende needles from the Kola Pennisula in Russia. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!	Lorenzenite A gorgeous 1cm lorenzenite crystal in a miniature matrix from Flora Mountain, Lorozepo Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Thanks to Darrel Merke's (Proton Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Lorenzenite, var. Ramsayite An excellent micro of ramsayite, the zirconium-free, pink, fibrous variety of lorenzenite, self-collected in June 2009 from the Jones Mill Quarry, Magnet Cove, Arkansas. Thanks to Chris Stefano's Christopher J. Stefano Fine Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 53
Magnesiocarpholite A micro of rare magnesiocarpholite (an aluminum magnesium hydoxysilicate) from Corsaglia, Cuneo Province, Piedmont, Italy. It forms a complete series with ferrocarpholite. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Magnesiohastingsite A large, rich miniature of aggregted black magnesiohastingsite (a magnesium calcium iron aluminum sodium hydroxysilicate) from the Boston Mine in Orange County, New York - an uncommon locality for this mineral. It forms a complete series with hastingsite where Fe+2 replaces the magnesium. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Magnesioriebeckite A nice miniature of gray-blue magnesioriebeckite (an iron magnesium sodium double-chain hydroxysilicate) in matrix from the Gingel Brothers Quarry somewhere near the maryland border in Pennsylvania. It forms a complete series with riebeckite, where ferrous iron replaces the magnesium. The larger image (bottom) shows the silky luster. Thanks to Vince Olsovsky's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 54
Manaksite An excellent micro of colorless manaksite (a manganese potassium sodium silicate) from the Palitra pegmatite, Kedykverpakhk Mt, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. It's the manganese analog of fenaksite and is a member of the litidionite group. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Mangano-ferri-eckermannite A good micro of reddish-black mangano-ferri-eckermannite (a manganese sodium iron hydroxysilicate) in a braunite-rhodonite matrix from the type locality of the Tanohata Mine, Iwate Prefecture, Tohoku Region, Honshu Island, Japan. Before 2012, this was called kozulite. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Manganogrunerite An excellent miniature of fibrous manganogrunerite (an iron manganese hydroxysilicate) from the Brunsjö Mine, Grythyttan, Hällefors, Västmanland, Sweden. The larger image (center, right) shows the chatoyancy. Manganogrunerite used to be called dannemorite. Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 55
Marsturite An excellent micro of orange marsturite (a manganese calcium sodium hydroxysilicate) on matrix from the Molinello Mine, Graveglia Valley, Ne, Genova Province, Liguria, Italy. Ex: W. and A. Cook Collection 8/16/2007 with Virgin Valley Minerals (Cincinnati, OH) and Excalibur-Cureton Co. ($25) tags. It's the sodium analog of lithiomarsturite and a member of the rhodonite group. Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Meliphanite A good miniature of pale-yellow meliphanite (a calcium sodium beryllium aluminosilicate) aand black annite (mica) from the type locality of Langesundsfjorden, Larvik, Vestfold, Norway. Thanks to Dr. Wilfried Steffens' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Miserite This nice miniature of pinkish-rose miserite (a complex potassium calcium double-chain silicate) with orange-fluorescing wollastonite (a single-chain calcium inosilicate) comes from the type locality of Potash Sulfur Springs, Garland County, Arkansas. Miserite is being considered as the basis for a series of synthetic high-strength high-toughness glass-ceramics. See the Rockhounding Arkansas article for more info. Thanks to Charles Creekmur's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 56
Miserite An excellent thumbnail of purple-pink miserite with black magnesiokatophorite, white albite, and minor pink eudialyte from the Kipawa alkaline complex, Les Lacs-du-Temiscamingue, Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to Reiner Mielke's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Namansilite and Noélbensonite These are two very rare manganese silicates - it's hard to see the difference in colors here, but the reddish-brown noélbensonite (larger image, bottom) is often an alteration product of the reddish-violet namansilite (larger image, center). The pectolite part of the white matrix glow bright orange under LUV. This thumbnail's from the Cerchiara (manganese) Mine, Liguria, Italy. Thanks to Brian McManus at the Pebble Peddler for the specimen!	Narsarsukite Narsarsukite (a sodium titanium iron fluorosilicate) is named after Narsarsuk, Greenland - this one's from Mont St-Hilaire, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to Daniel Comtois at Daniel Comtois - Quebec Minerals for the specimen!
Row 57
Narsarsukite Another narsarsukite from the Poudrette Quarry in Mont Saint-Hilaire - this one's yellow. Thanks to Tim Jokela, Jr. at Element 51 for the specimen!	Natalyite A few brownish-green rough crystals of natalyite (a vanadium sodium silicate) in a capsule from the Zaonezhie peninsula, Lake Onega, Karelia Republic, Russia. Some analyses show a trace of chromium and ferric iron. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Natrolemoynite An excellent micro of a white natrolemoynite (a hydrated zirconium sodium silicate) fan on matrix from the type locality of the Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Monteregie, Quebec, Canada. It's chemically similar to lemoynite, but does not appear to form a series. Thanks to Arnaldo Brunetti's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 58
Natronambulite A good micro of pinkish natronambulite (a manganese sodium hydroxysilicate) crystal cleavages in quartz from the type locality of the Tanohata mine, Shimohei-gun, Iwate Prefecture, Honshu Island, Japan. Ex: Joe Cilen Collection. It forms a series with nambulite where lithium replaces the sodium and a member of the rhodonite group. Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Niobokupletskite A very rich miniature of dark-brown niobokupletskite (a complex manganese niobium silicate) crystals on matrix from the type and only locality of the Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Monteregie, Quebec, Canada. It's related to kupletskite. Thanks to Darrel Merke's (Proton Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Niobophyllite An excellent miniature of brownish-orange niobophyllite (an iron niobium manganese complex silicate) crystals on a smoky quartz matrix Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi. Thanks to Giorgio Spiga's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 59
Noonkanbahite A good micro of brownish-orange noonkanbahite (a titanium potassium niobium barium silicate) plates on matrix from the co-type locality of the Tausonite Hill, Murunskii Massif, Aldan Shield, Saha Republic, Russia. It's the barium analog of shcherbakovite and the potassium analog of batisite. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Okenite A beautiful okenite (calcium silicate) "puffball" from Pune, Maharastra, India.	Okenite This okenite is from Pune, Maharastra, India and is accompanied by two white and one pale green gyrolites. Thanks to the Carnegie Natural History Museum Store for the specimen!
Row 60
Oxo-magnesio-hastingsite A thumbnail of a crystal section of black oxo-magnesio-hastingsite (formerly named ferri-kaersutite) from Radersberg, Bruck-Dreis, Daun, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Paraumbite A large micro of whitish paraumbite (a hydrated zirconium potassium silicate) replacing pink eudialyte from the type locality of Eveslogchorr Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Pargasite Lime-green pargasite, a sodium calcium magnesium aluminum hydroxyaluminosilicate, (and probable dark green ferropargasite, where iron replaces the magnesium) comprise this small cabinet chunk from Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Thanks to Ken & Liz Massie's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 61
Pargasite & Sanidine Tiny black pargasite (larger image, bottom left) and colorless sanidine (larger image, bottom center) crystals in matrix from Mount Vesuvius, Italy, There's also a few unidentified transparent brown crystals present (larger image, bottom right). Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Pargasite A miniature of many pale-green pargasite crystals in marble from An Phu, Luc Yen, Yenbai Province, Vietnam. Thanks to Kerry Day (Kaygeedee Minerals) for the specimen!	Pargasite An 8.7 ct transparent brown pargasite crystal (probably) from the Muriatata hills, Longido, Arusha Region, Tanzania. Thanks to Mike Petrov's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 62
Parvowinchite and Todorokite An excellent miniature of massive pink parvowinchite (a magnesium manganese iron hydroxysilicate) and massive black todorokite from the Serrana (manganese) Mine, El Molar, Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. It forms a series with manganogrunerite. This was called fluorian manganoan parvowinchite after the 2004 amphibole recommendations. Since the 2012 amphibole renamings, it's often a synonym for ferri-ghoseite or ghoseite. Thanks to Stefano Broetto's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Pectolite Very nice white pectolite (sodium calcium hydroxysilicate) - the orange fluorescence under LUV tells me it's from Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey. It forms a series with serandite.	Pectolite A small cabinet specimen of a big blue-green pectolite spray in matrix from Berghamn, Kramfors, Ĺngermanland, Sweden. There's also some excellent dark-red piemontite crystals present. Thanks to Jonas Bredberg's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 63
Pectolite An unusual small cabinet association of pectolite with biotite from the Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Monteregie, Quebec, Canada. It comes with an Ernest Schlichter dealer tag. Thanks to Ronald Gyllenhammer's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Pectolite var. Lorimar The blue copper-bearing variety of pectolite (discovered in 1974), when cabbed for jewelry, is called "Lorimar (Larimar)" - it only comes from the Filipinas Larimar Mine, Barahona Province, Dominican Republic. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Pectolite, var. Schizolite This is an excellent micro of pale-pink slender schizolite (manganoan pectolite) prisms on matrix from somewhere in Australia (the tag says Blinman, but MinDat doesn't list it there). Thanks to Dawn & Bob Brady's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 64
Petedunnite Two miniature cut-offs of dark-green petedunnite (a calcoium zinc iron manganese silicate) from the type locality of the Buckwheat pit, Franklin Mine, Franklin, Franklin Mining District, Sussex County, New Jersey. Thanks to Joseph McAnney's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Pigeonite An excellent rich miniature of greenish-black pigeonite (a magnesium iron calcium silicate) crystals on matrix with minor peridot from the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Gila County, Arizona. Thanks to Stephen Hernley's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Plombierite A rich miniature of pearly white flaky plombierite (a hydrated calcium hydroxysilicate) from the Crestmore quarries, Crestmore, Riverside County, California. The blue crystals are cuprian plombierite. Ex: DeVito Collection. Plombierite is also known as 14 Ĺ tobermorite. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!
Row 65
Potassic-chloro-pargasite A beautiful miniature of red ruby and green potassic-chloro-pargasite (a calcium aluminum magnesium potassium complex silicate) from Buck Creek, Clay County, North Carolina. Some analyses show iron - the analysis of this one does not. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Potassic-fluoro-richterite A beautiful miniature of sharp purple-black potassic-fluoro-richterite crystals from the 2000 reworking of the Hunter Property, Tory Hill, Ontario, Canada. Some of the crystal edges (larger image, bottom right) are translucent. Thanks to Darrel Merke's (Proton Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Potassic-fluoro-richterite A gemmy thumbnail light-yellow potassic-fluoro-richterite crystal from Kiran, Kokcha Valley, Badakhshan, Afghanistan. It's hard to believe that these two are the same mineral - though I'm told that slight compositional differences may account for the vastly different appearence. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image!
Row 66
Potassic-pargasite An excellent miniature of tiny black potassic-pargasite (an iron calcium magnesium potassium hydroxysilicate) crystals on matrix from the type locality of Pargas, Southwestern Finland Region, Finland. It's the potassium analog of pargasite. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Proto-ferro-suenoite An excellent micro of pale-gray radiating clusters (at the arrows) of rare proto-ferro-suenoite on matrix from the type locality of the Nippyo mine, Awano, Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture, Honshu Island, Japan. Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Proto-ferro-suenoite An excellent micro of pale-gray tabular crystals of rare proto-ferro-suenoite on a weathered fayalite matrix from only the second known location of Iizaka Village, Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture, Honshu Island, Japan. Prior to 2012, this was known as protomangano-ferro-anthophyllite. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 67
Pyroxmangite Pyroxmangite's one of the many manganese silicates (manganese metasilicate) - this massive chunk is from the Sunnyside Mine, Eureka Mining District, Silverton, San Juan County, Colorado and has a few small quartz crystals on the back. It forms a series with pyroxferroite where iron replaces the manganese (and for which the type locality is Mare Tranquillitas, The Moon!). Thanks to Henry Truebe's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Pyroxmangite This thumbnail of pyroxmangite from Morro da Mina, Conselheiro Lafaiete, Minas Gerais, Brazil is a deeper rose pink than my massive one. Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Pyroxmangite Another bright thumbnail of pyroxmangite from Morro da Mina - the closeup shows one of the gemmier portions. Thanks to the Carnegie Natural History Museum Store for the specimen!
Row 68
Revdite An excellent micro of white revdite (a sodium silicate) from the Palitra pegmatite, Kedyk, Kedykverpakhk Mt, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. There's also minor manaksite and thermonatrite present. MinDat gives a completely different formula for revdite. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Rhodonite A pretty pink intergrown cluster of bladed rhodonite (another manganese silicate) from the Chiurucu Mine, Dos de Mayo Province, Huanuco Department, Perú. The closeup shows a bunch of clear, slender, doubly-terminated quartz crystals. Thanks to Alan & Marsha Day at Mineral Exploration Services for the specimen!	Rhodonite A massive chunk of raspberry rhodonite with a few crystal surfaces showing.
Row 69
Rhodonite Rhodonite embedded in galena with a spessartine on top from the Broken Hill Mine, New South Wales, Australia. Thanks to Mike Shell for the specimen!	Rhodonite Massive rhodonite, especially if it has veins of manganese oxides, is often slabbed and polished for jewelry - this one's from an old mine (now a shopping mall parking lot) in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Thanks to Donna Lee Hanlon's (Donna's Treasures) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Rhodonite, var. Fowlerite This miniature of fowlerite (zincian and calcian rhodonite) dates from the 1950s and is from Franklin, Sussex County, New Jersey - the type locality for this variety. The larger image shows the front (top row) with a fowlerite crystal fragment in the fowlerite matrix - the back of the miniature (bottom row) shows the typical willemite / franklinite / fowlerite mix (and fluorescence) typical of the locale. Thanks to Melissa Stewart's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 70
Rhonite A rich micro of dark-brown rhonite (an iron calcium magnesium aluminosilicate) crystals on matrix from the Laach lake volcanic complex, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It has a Tony Jones tag. Rhonite is one of only a few minerals with essential trivalent titanium. Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Rhonite A very nice large micro of tiny red-brown rhonite crystals in vugs in a basalt matrix from Nickenich, Andernach, Eifel, Rhineland‑Palatinate, Germany. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Richterite This sawn and sanded slab is primarily blue richterite (richtorite in the jewelry trade) - the midpoint (a sodium calcium magnesium hydroxysilicate) of the ferrorichterite and a hypothetical magnesiorichterite series. It's also the hydroxyl analog of flurorichterite. Thanks to Craig Hinegardner's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 71
Richterite A small miniature of blue richterite and lavender sugilite in matrix from the Wessels Mine, Hotazel, Kalahari manganese field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Thanks to Larry Juhl's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Riebeckite A fascianting miniature of alternating bands of light-grayish-green massive aegirine and dark-blue riebeckite (a ferrosoferric sodium hydroxysilicate) needles from the old Vermiculite Mine in the Gem Park complex, Fremont County, Colorado. Ex: Prof. E. Wm. Heinrich (UMich) Collection. Thanks to Tony Nikischer's Excalibur Mineral Company auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Riebeckite An excellent miniature of pale blue-gray fibrous riebeckite bands in matrix from Kuruman, Kalahari manganese field, Northern Cape Province, South AfricaEx: Phillips Collection with a Prosper J. Williams $4 tag. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!
Row 72
Riebeckite, var. Crocidolite The fibrous variety of riebeckite, a sodium iron hydroxysilicate, is called crocidolite (or "Cape Blue" asbestos - the more dangerous of the two asbestos types). When silicified it forms the tigereyes of jewelry fame - if it stays unoxidized through the silicification process, it becomes hawkseye; as it oxidizes, it becomes catseye (green), tigereye (yellow to red), and, finally, bullseye (brown). This beautiful shimmery cabinet piece comes from Kuruman, South Africa. It forms a complete series with magnesioriebeckite, where magnesium replaces some of the iron. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen!	Riebeckite, var. Pietersite If, during crocidolite's silicification, the host rock (chalcedony) is fractured and folded, it becomes pietersite, named after Sid Pieters, its discoverer. This gorgeous polished nugget is from Namibia. The Chinese pietersites (more red and gold colors) are included with torendrikite instead of crocidolite. Like the tigereyes, pietersites are in demand for jewelry. Thanks to Steiner's Rockshop auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Riversideite Like tobermorite, riversideite (a hydrated calcium hydroxysilicate) used to be classified with the phyllosilicates. Here, in this miniature from the type locality of the Crestmore Quarry, Riverside County, California, it occurs as white compacted fibers in veinlets throughout the matrix. There's also a partial crystal of the famous Crestmore sky-blue calcite (larger image, bottom). Thanks to Vince's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 73
Santaclaraite Santaclaraite's a hydrated manganese calcium hydroxysilicate - this miniature of pink santaclaraite in matrix comes from Mount Hamilton, near the type localities in Santa Clara County, California. Thanks to Joseph & Catherine Morris' PhelansFinds auction on eBay for the specimen!	Sapphirine Small dark blue crystals of sapphirine, a magnesium aluminum aluminosilicate named because of its resemblance to sapphire, from Androy, Madagascar. Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Sazykinaite-(Y) on Manganoeudialyite Here in this large micro from Partomchorr Mt., Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia, sazykinaite-Y (a hydrated sodium zirconium yttrium silicate) occurs as whitish rhomboedrons on brownish-red manganoeudialyite. It's a member of the hilairite group and forms an incomplete series with it. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 74
Scheuchzerite A nice micro of radiating orange scheuchzerite (a manganese sodium vanadosilicate) on matrix from the Valgraveglia Mine, Reppia, Graveglia Valley, Ne, Genova Province, Liguria, Italy. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Seidite-(Ce) An excellent micro of light-beige radial aggregates of seidite-(Ce) (a complex hydrated cerium sodium strontium titanosilicate) with deep-red manganoneptunite on a natrolite matrix from the type locality of the Yubileinaya pegmatite, Karnasurt Mt, Lovozero, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Seidite-(Ce) is microporous and has shown ion-exhange potential in swapping its sodium for heavy metals like thallium and barium. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Sérandite A beautiful thumbnail of sérandite associated with black aegirine, silvery yellow polylithionite (bottom row, center, larger picture), white analcime (bottom row, left, larger picture), and manganous vesuvianite (bottom row, right, larger picture) from Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. Its unique salmon-pink color comes from a partial replacement of the calcium in pectolite with manganese. The manganese also tinted the vesuvianite violet. Thanks to Doug Miller at Northern Lights Minerals for the specimen and the image!
Row 75
Serendibite A miniature of dark-blue serendibite (some altering to a brownish serpentine) and golden phlogopite in white (Grenville) marble from a now-closed watershed near Johnsburg Village, Johnsburg Township, Warren County, New York. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Shcherbakovite An excellent miniature of brown shcherbakovite (a titanium potassium complex silicate) crystals on matrix from Eveslogtchorr, Chibiny, Kola Peninsula, Russia. It's the potassium-dominant analog of batisite. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Shcherbakovite An excellent large micro of vitreous translucent brown shcherbakovite crystals on matrix from Yukspor Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 76
Spodumene, var. Hiddenite This pale green spodumene (hiddenite) is from Kunar Tal, Nuristan, Afghanistan. I'm not sure that this should be called "hiddenite" - the green tint is more likely due to iron rather than chromium. Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen!	Spodumene, var. Kunzite Kunzite's the pink to lavender variety of spodumene - this one's from Gilgit, Afghanistan. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!	Spodumene, var. Kunzite A miniature of the 2001 find of blue kunzite from Nuristan, Afghanistan. Like most blue kunzite, it'll probably turn lavender if left exposed to light and warm temperatures. Thanks to S & F Gem's auction on eBay for the specimen and image!
Row 77
Spodumene, var. Kunzite A rare matrix miniature of kunzite - almost all spodumenes readily separate from their matrix. This one's from Pakistan. Thanks to T. Laurano's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Spodumene, var. Triphane Spodumene (lithium aluminum silicate) can occur in many pastel colors - this yellow variety is also cvalled "triphane". I've had this for so long I don't recall where it's from.	Stokesite Stokesite's one of the rare tin minerals (28% tin) - it's a calcium tin silicate named after Sir George G. Stokes, the famous British physicist and mathematician. This typical thumbnail of stokesite crystals on albite is from the Urucum Mine in Galilea, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Thanks to Don Smoley's Minerals & Gems table at the 2003 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!
Row 78
Tadzhikite-(Ce) A beautiful small miniature of brown tadzhikite-(Ce) (larger image, bottom row), pink eudialyte (larger image, top row, center), and dark-blue fluoro-leakeite (larger image, top row, right) in matrix from Norra Karr, Granna, Jonkoping, Smaland, Sweden. Tadzhikite-(Ce) is a cerium calcium yttrium borosilicate. This is the type locality for fluoro-leakeite. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Taneyamalite A rich micro of fibrous dark-brown taneyamalite (a manganese iron complex silicate) crusts on a hematite matrix from the co-type locality of the Taneyama mine, Toyo, Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu Region, Japan. Ex: C. E. (Eb) Bosworth Collection. Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Taramite An excellent large miniature of a taramite (an iron aluminum sodium calcium hydroxysilicate) radiating spray from Itinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Thanks to Henri De Ruyck's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 79
Terskite A good miniature of pale-brown terskite (a hydrated sodium zirconium silicate) with minor eudialyte, manhanoneptunite, shkatulkalite, and aegirine in and through matrix.on matrix from the type locality of Alluaiv Mt, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsular, Murmanskaja, Russia. Ex: Olaf Hausler collection 1996. Terskite is usually an alteration product of eudialyte (as here). Thanks to Martin Gale's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Tinaksite A good micro of pale-yellow tinaksite (a comples potassium calcium titanosilicate) on matrix from the type locality of the Murunskii Massif, Chara and Tokko Rivers Confluence, Saha Republic, Russia. It's the potassium analog of senkevichite and is isostructural with tokkoite. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Tirodite Some references consider tirodite to be manganocummingtonite, a double-chain magnesium manganese hydroxysilicate. Most tirodite has a small amount of iron replacing the magnesium - if the iron content is more than 50%, the mineral becomes dannemorite. So, it's reasonable to consider tirodite as the midmember of a hypothetical manganocummingtonite - dannemorite series. This beautifully-fluorescing (red-orange tirodite and orange tremolite) miniature of transparent pink tirodite crystals in a tremolite matrix is from Talcville, St. Lawrence County, New York. Thanks to Val Collin's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 80
Tobermorite Rare beige tobermorite (a calcium triple-chain hydroxysilicate) and blue calcite in matrix from the Crestmore Quarry in Riverside County, California. Tobermorite's dimorphic with clinotobermorite. Thanks to Gary Lozonne at Lozonne's Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Tobermorite, var. Crestmoreite Once thought to be a mineral in its own right, crestmoreite is now considered to be a mixture of tobermorite and fluorellestadite (or any of the other ellestadite family members). This miniature of off-white crestmoreite in matrix (from the Harry Uhl Collection) is from the type locality of the Crestmore Concrete Plant, Riverside County, California. Thanks to Jennings "Beau" Gordon's (Jendon Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Tokkoite A miniature of tokkoite (a calcium potassium triple-chain silicate) blades in matrix from the type locality of Murun, Jakutia, Siberia, Russia. It's isostructural with tinaksite. Thanks to Ingo Drescher's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 81
Tremolite, var. Chrome-Tremolite This is a preform of the chromium-enhanced variety of tremolite - it's from one of the very few locales in the world, Balmat, St Lawrence County, New York and was mined in the 1950s. Thanks to Mark Stevens' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Tremolite, var. Hexagonite Hexagonite's the pink to lilac manganese-rich variety of tremolite - most of it comes from Balmat, New York, either the Gouverneur Talc Corp. (this one) or the International Talc Company mines. There's two good-sized crystals here as well. Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Tremolite, var. Hexagonite Another (smaller) piece of hexagonite - this one's from the International Talc Company mine in Balmat, New York.
Row 82
Tremolite, var. Hexagonite A thumbnail of hexagonite from Balmat, New York - this thumbnail has a gemmy crystal protruding from the massive matrix. Thanks to Bill Kohout's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Tuhualite A 3mm specimen of rare purplish-black tabular tuhualite (a ferrosoferric sodium silicate) crystals in matrix from the co-type locality of Opo Bay, Tuhua Island, New Zealand. Ex: Phillips Collection. Potassium can replace some of the sodium. There are two other members of the tuhualite group - emeleusite and zektzerite. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!	Umbite An excellent miniature of white dusty umbite (a hydrated zirconium potassium silicate) coatings on red eudialyte from the Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Ex: D. W. Schmerling Collection. Thanks to Vince Olsovsky's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 83
Umbite A small miniature of white microcrystalline umbite coatings on matrix from Rasvumchorr Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!	Ungarettiite An excellent micro of dark-red ungarettiite (a manganese sodium silicate) on matrix from the type locality of the Hoskins Mine, Grenfell, Forbes County, New South Wales, Australia. It was redefined in the 2012 amphibole nomenclature, and is now named mangano‑mangani‑ungarettiite. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Vanadiocarpholite A good micro of brown vanadiocarpholite (a manganese vanadium aluminum hydroxysilicate) lining a chert fracture from the type locality of the Molinello Mine, Graveglia Valley, Ne, Genova Province, Liguria, Italy. It forms a complete series with carpholite, where aluminum replaces the vanadium. Thanks to Chris Stefano's Christopher J. Stefano Fine Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 84
Vanadiocarpholite An excellent micro of reddish-brown vanadiocarpholite on matrix, also from the type locality of the Molinello Mine. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Vinogradovite A beautiful micro, collected in 2004, of colorless radiating acicular vinogradovite (a complex hydrated titanium sodium aluminosilicate) on matrix from the Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Monteregie, Quebec. Thanks to Jonathan Levinger's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Vinogradovite In addition to acicular clusters, vinogradovite forms long tabular crystals - this thumbnail's also from Mont Saint-Hilaire. Thanks to Arnaldo Brunetti's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 85
Vlasovite Vlasovite's a rare sodium zirconium silicate with a complex structure - this miniature is from the Kipawa Complex, Sheffield Lake, Villedieu Township, Temiscamingue County, Quebec, Canada. The vlasovite here is a yellowish-brown with red eudialyte and white, silky agrellite. This location is the type locality for agrellite. Thanks to SoCal Nevada's auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Vlasovite Green vlasovite (Darrel's pictures (larger image, bottom row) show the color better) is surrounded by white gittinsite (a calcium zirconium sorosilicate) - the matrix is deep pink eudialyte in this classic miniature also from the Kipawa Complex. There's a fairly gemmy vlasovite cleavage fragment present (larger image, bottom left). This location is the type locality for gittinsite. Thanks to Darrel Merke's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! Thanks also to John & Maryanne Fender (Fender Natural Resources) for the gittinsite identification and association info.	Vlasovite An excellent thumbnail of tan vlasovite, again from the Kipawa Complex. I don't know what the black mineral is. Thanks to Kerry Day's (Kaygeedee Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 86
Welshite An excellent miniature of a 2mm brown welshite crystal fragment in matrix from the type and only locality of Langban, Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden. Welshite is a very complex silicate with a high antimony and beryllium content and is a member of the aenigmatite group. Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Winchite A miniature of white winchite (a magnesium calcium iron hydroxysilicate) on brown braunite from the Kajlidongri mine, Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh, India. This locale was once considered the type locality for winchite, but newer analyses of winchite from here have been found to be ferri-winchite. Thanks to Jonathan Green's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Winchite A beautiful miniature of grayish-lavender winchite crystals on matrix from the Koksha Valley, Khash & Kuran Wa Munjan Districts, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. Thanks to Faraz Ahmad's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 87
Wollastonite Pale bluish-green parallel wollastonite (a single-chain of three linked SiO4 tetrahedra - calcium metasilicate) blades with probable brown almandine and green diopside from the Minerals Unlimited Mine in Lewis, Essex County, New York. Wollastonite is one of a small group of minerals called pyroxenoids. I don't know what causes the blue-green tint - none of my field guides mention this color. As is often the case on my site, the actual color is somewhere in between Steve's photo and mine. It also glows a bright lime-green under longwave UV. Thanks to Steve Cantiello's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Wollastonite An excellent miniature of a group of wollastonite crystals on wollastonite matrix from Route 117, Mont-Tremblant, Les Laurentides RCM, Laurentides, Quebec, Canada. The larger image, rightmost panel, shows an end view of one of the crystals - an unusual habit for wollastonite. Thanks to Alain Sankey's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Wollastonite A more typical miniature of fibrous wollastonite from Mine Lac d'Amiante, Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine, Les Appalaches RCM, Chaudiere-Appalaches, Quebec, Canada - the individual fibers shed easily. Thanks to Alain Sankey's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 88
Wollastonite A miniature of a section of wollastonite on yellow calcite, also from Mont-Tremblant - this has been analyzed to prove that these are wollastonites. Thanks to Alain Sankey's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Wollastonite A micro of pale-green wollastonite (probably cuprian) from the Gold Hill Mine, Gold Hill District, Deep Creek Mts, Tooele County, Utah. Thanks to Dawn & Bob Brady's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Wollastonite Wollastonite rarely forms good crystals - this 17mm crystal in diopside is from the recent small find (see the Nov / Dec 2016 Rocks & Minerals Magazine article) at the Autoroute 5 extension, Wakefield, La Peche, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais RCM, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to Philip Persson's (Persson Rare Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 89
Wollastonite, var. Parawollastonite Parawollastonite is the common name for wollastonite-2M, the very rare monoclinic polymorph of wollastonite. This miniature is from the Crestmore Quarry, Riverside County, California. Ex: Larner R. Peak and David M. Shannon Collections. Thanks to Kim & Cindy Strange's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Wollastonite, var. Wollastonite-3A-4A-5A A nice miniature of three rare triclinic polymorphs of wollastonite (3A, 4A, and 5A, now called 3T, 4T, and 5T) from the type locality of Kushiro, Hiroshima Prefecture, Honshu Island, Japan. I don't know what the black mineral or the iridescent schiller is (larger image, center). Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Wollastonite, var. Wollastonite-2R A nice micro of white wollastonite-2R on matrix from the type locality of the Fuka Mine, Bitchu-Cho, Okayama Prefectur, Chugoko Region, Honshu Island, Japan. I don't know where this fits into the complicated wollastonite polymorph scheme - I can't find any further information on this one. Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 90
Xonotlite A thumbnail of white xonotlite (a calcium triple-chain hydroxy(ino)silicate) from the Acheron River, Rakaia Gorge, Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand. Synthetic ceramics with a xonotlite structure (e.g., PROMALIGHT®-310) make extremely low thermal-conductivity microporous machinable insulators. Thanks to Toby Page's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Xonotlite A rare and fascinating small-cabinet specimen of radiating xonotlite from the now off-limits Hunting Hill quarry, Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland. Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and images!	Yuksporite An excellent small miniature of pinkish-brown yuksporite (a very complex calcium potassium titanium silicate) from the type locality of the Hackman Valley,Yukspor Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja, Russia. Thanks to Mike Petrov's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 91
Yuksporite An excellent large micro of yuksporite, also from the type locality of the Hackman Valley in Russia. Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Zektzerite A 2mm light-pink crystal of zektzerite (a zirconium sodium lithium silicate) in a riebeckite granite pocket from the type locality of the Washington Pass, Golden Horn Batholith, Okanogan County, Washington. It's a member of the tuhualite group. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!	Zorite A small miniature of tiny pink crystals of zorite (a titanium sodium triple-chain silicate) in a nepheline matrix from the type locality of the Yubileinaya (Jubilee) pegmatite, Mt. Karnasurt, Lovozero massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image!

maintained by: Alan Guisewite

Last Update 10 Jun 2017