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Chabazite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  CaAl₂Si₄O₁₂ ·6(H₂O)
[Hydrated Calcium Aluminum Silicate]

Discovered in 1792;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered).
Chabazite is named fronm the Greek chabazois, an ancient name for a stone.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/J.26-30

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.GD.10

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
G : Tektosilicates with zeolitic H₂O; zeolite family
D : Chains of 6-membered rings – tabular zeolites

Related to:

Zeolite Group: Analcime, Mordenite, Natrolite, Pollucite, Scolecite, Stilbite, Thomsonite, Yugawaralite. Willhendersonite - Chabazite - Perialite Series. Chabazite-Levyne Subgroup.

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Triclinic - Pinacoidal

Crystal Habit:

As pseudorhombohedral crystals, nearly cubic in aspect, to 4.5 cm; tabular, complex to rounded twinned forms; anhedral, granular, or massive.

Twinning:

About [0001], interpenetrant, simple and repeated, common, contact on [1011]

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

[1011] Distinct/Good

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven

Tenacity:

Brittle

Hardness (Mohs):

4.0 - 5.0

Density:

2.05 - 2.20 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Barely Detectable; GRapi = 11.07 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless, White, Yellow, Pink, Red

Transparency:

Translucent to Transparent

Luster:

Vitreous

Refractive Index:

1.478 - 1.493  Biaxial ( +/- ) (or Uniaxial; commonly shows birefringent panelling in six sections)

Birefringence:

0.0020 - 0.0050

Dispersion:

None

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

In vugs in volcanic rocks as basalts, andesite; rarer in limestones and schists; hydrothermally deposited in cavities and joints in ore veins. In bedded tuff in lake deposits, altered from volcanic glass.

Common Associations:

Amphiboles, Axinite, Calcite, Dolomite, Epidote, Melilite, Nepheline, Olivine, Pyroxenes, Tridymite, Zeolites

Type Locality:

Colle del Lares, San Nicolò Valley, Buffaure Group, Fassa Valley, Trento Province, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

Year Discovered:

1792

View mineral photos:

Chabazite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Chabazite is the calcium dominant member of the Chabazite Series and an extremely rare member of the Zeolite Group of minerals that includes over 40 minerals and these gem-type minerals: Analcime, Barrerite, Chabazite, Epistilbite, Gmelinite-Na, Goosecreekite, Mordenite, Natrolite, Pollucite, Scolecite, Stellerite, Stilbite, Thomsonite and Yugawaralite. Chabazite, also known as Acadialite, is one of the lesser known Zeolites. Although it is a fairly common mineral, it is a very rare gem.

Chabazite is a common Zeolite so there are many locations for the mineral but very few for fine, gem quality crystals. A few of these locations are Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; Breidhdalsheidhi, Iceland; Khandivali quarry, near Bombay, Maharashtra, India; Paterson, Passaic County, and Bergen Hill, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA.
 

  
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