Common
Associations: |
Prehnite,
Calcite, Epidote, Albite, Orthoclase, Garnet, Quartz,
"Hornblende," Zeolites.
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Babingtonite is
a calcium iron manganese inosilicate mineral that is unusual in that iron(+3) completely replaces the aluminium so
typical of silicate minerals. Technically speaking, Babingtonite contains both divalent (+2) and trivalent (+3) iron ions where
aluminum ions would normally be in a silicate mineral.
This causes Babingtonite to have very weak magnetism.
It is typically black
but may also be a very dark green.
It is typically opaque but may also be translucent (in thin crystals or slivers). Babingtonite
often occurs with Zeolite
group minerals in cavities in volcanic rocks. It also is the
only black mineral found with the typically white or pale colored Zeolites.
This makes a nice contrast which makes it easy to see the normally
small Babingtonite crystals among the other minerals in a zeolitic pocket.
Babingtonite was first described in 1824 from samples from the
Arendal Iron Mines, Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway
(the type locality) and was named after Dr. William Babington (May 21, 1756 - April 29, 1833), physician and mineralogist, curator of the John Stuart, 3rd
Earl of Bute mineral collection until 1792, founding member and
President (from 1822 to 1824) of the Geological Society of London and
author of noted systematic books on mineralogy (1796 - 1799). Babingtonite is the official mineral of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Known
from a number of localities, most minor; some of the
loalities providing
good crystals are: in Norway, at the Brastad mine, Oyestad,
near Arendal. From Gronsjöberg, Dalarma, Sweden. In
Germany, at Herbornseelbach, Hesse. From Baveno, Piedmont,
Italy. In the Khandivali quarry, near Bombay, Maharashtra,
India. At Mitani, Kochi Prefecture, Japan. From Noril'sk,
western Siberia, Russia. In the USA, in Massachusetts,
exceptional crystals from Lane's quarry, Westfield,
Hampden County; in the Cheapside and Deerfield quarries,
East Deerfield, Franklin County; also at Winchester
Highlands, Uxbridge, Norfolk County. At Paterson, Passaic
County, and Mine Hill, Morris County, New Jersey; from
the Goose Creek quarry, Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia;
and at Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina.
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