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Mineral Specimens with Thomsonite-Ca
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Thomsonite is one of the less common members of the zeolite family. In this case, it has grown as a large, ivory-colored crysatl aggregate, measuring 6.5 cm across. It has formed on an earlier generation of green, prehnite, to 1.5 cm across. The rarity and size of the thomsonite, make this a very collectible specimen NOT JUST for the locality but rather significant for the species as well.
Crystallized Thomsonite is exceedingly rare from the Manganese Fields, and this is one of only a handful of specimens i have seen in decades of looking. The piece features a 1-inch ball perched smack atop a natural pedestal. THis is a significant and readily displayable specimen of this rare species. And, as well, crystallized thomsonite is rare from ANY locale to begin with.
6.1 x 4.3 x 2.7 cm. This pocket was hit literally a week before the Denver show, during a well dig in rural Maharashtra state; the three Indian dealers that had it mislabeled it as mesolite or pectolite initially. After we confirmed that it was in fact thomsonite we bought most of the find (this is a large portion of the better pieces in the entire pocket). It is from a small dig in the Aurangabad forest (near Nasik) and may be a unique find since nothing like it has been hit before. Keep in mind that thomsonite is one of the RAREST zeolites and has never been found in such quantity and quality before from any locality, especially in India where it is almost non-existent despite the tonnage of other zeolites to come out of the Deccan traps. Thomsonite has been found, to be honest, at several other localities in very nice crystals, it is true. However, the form here, and the overall size of the radial aggregates, is unique. These form primarily as apparent spheres, but broken ones show the radial crystallization inside. This certainly ranks as one of the most important finds in Indian mineral history!!
Crystallized Thomsonite is exceedingly rare from the Manganese Fields, and this is one of only a handful of specimens i have seen in decades of looking. The piece features a 1-inch ball perched smack atop a natural pedestal. THis is a significant and readily displayable specimen of this rare species. And, as well, crystallized thomsonite is rare from ANY locale to begin with. 4.4 x 3.2 x 3.1 cm
3.5 x 2.8 x 2.1 cm. From the archives of the Min. Record (Oct. 2005): "In early September a well-digging in India produced a significant mineral find—as well-diggings in India often have done—and a handful of striking-looking miniature to large-cabinet specimens for Rob Lavinsky to add to his site. Three Indian dealers also bought up some of these intriguing specimens of thomsonite, a zeolite species heretofore almost unknown from the basalts of the Deccan Plateau (in the Indian Zeolites Special Issue, Berthold Ottens writes that thomsonite "is one of the rarest zeolites of the region…not to be found among dealers'' offerings"). Thomsonite, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, 4.5 x 6.8 x 11.5 cm; Rob Lavinsky photo This newly found thomsonite occurs as perfect spheres, to 7 cm in diameter, composed of radiating acicular crystals, resting directly on brownish gray basalt matrix. The spheres are opaque and creamy white to very pale orange, with the surface texture of fine-grained sandpaper. Specimens consist of isolated spheres or intergrown, wavy-surfaced groups of spheres resting lightly on matrix, or grapelike clusters free of matrix. This material was originally called pectolite, mesolite, scolecite, or a mixture of these (since indeed you would think of any of them before you would think of thomsonite), but testing has settled the question: it is in fact thomsonite. The well-digging site from which the specimens came—and more perhaps will come—is said to lie in a forest near Aurangabad, Maharashtra." You should have seen dealers rush to snap these up when the buzz got around at the show where they appeared that they had indeed been identified as superb specimens of rare thomsonite!
6.3 x 2.8 x 2.6 cm. You should have seen dealers rush to snap these up when the buzz got around at the show where they appeared that they had indeed been identified as superb specimens of rare thomsonite! This is a very fine cluster of three, intergrown spheres. The broken sphere highlights the radiating, acicular crystal growth. A neat revelation! From the archives of the Mineralogical Record (Oct. 2005): "In early September a well-digging in India produced a significant mineral find—as well-diggings in India often have done—and a handful of striking-looking miniature to large-cabinet specimens for Rob Lavinsky to add to his site. Three Indian dealers also bought up some of these intriguing specimens of thomsonite, a zeolite species heretofore almost unknown from the basalts of the Deccan Plateau (in the Indian Zeolites Special Issue, Berthold Ottens writes that thomsonite "is one of the rarest zeolites of the region…not to be found among dealers’ offerings"). This newly found thomsonite occurs as perfect spheres, to 7 cm in diameter, composed of radiating acicular crystals, resting directly on brownish gray basalt matrix. The spheres are opaque and creamy white to very pale orange, with the surface texture of fine-grained sandpaper. Specimens consist of isolated spheres or intergrown, wavy-surfaced groups of spheres resting lightly on matrix, or grapelike clusters free of matrix. This material was originally called pectolite, mesolite, scolecite, or a mixture of these (since indeed you would think of any of them before you would think of thomsonite), but testing has settled the question: it is in fact thomsonite. The well-digging site from which the specimens came—and more perhaps will come—is said to lie in a forest near Aurangabad, Maharashtra."
3.9 x 3.5 x 2.0 cm. A perfect and very showy hemisphere of off-white thomsonite nicely accented with lustrous epistilbite blades from an uncommon Indian locality - Chinchwad. Thomsonite is one of the more uncommon zeolite group species and this is a good one. Ex. George Feist Collection.
9.5 x 4.2 x 1.8 cm. A shock went through the Denver show a few years back when word got out that these zeolite balls from India, unbeknownst to the dealers who brought them over, were actually the very rare THOMSONITE, rather than some other zeolite. They were all bought up immediately, of course, because thomsonite had never been seen in such big, rich and actually PRETTY specimens - forming perfect and sometimes large spheres. These measure to 2 cm - a chain of ten intergrown balls.
6.4 x 5.1 x 3.3 cm. A rather large ball of crystallized thomsonite, with two sidecars, from finds that are simply amazing for this rare zeolite species which had not before been found in India despite all its zeolite wealth, until one large pocket zone was stumbled into a few years ago. Ex. Charlie Key.
An excellent semi-circular bulls eye and radiating spray of lustrous light salmon-pink Thomsonite needles up to 1.5 cm long on basalt matrix. The Grand Marais is one of the premier Thomsonite localities in the United States. 3.2 x 3.1 x 2.4 cm
8.0 x 2.8 x 2.2 cm. Very long, pearlescent, parallel-growth thomsonite blades comprise this fine zeolite group specimen from the old-time and famous locality of Cape Blomidon, Nova Scotia. The Triassic basalt outcrops are along the Bay of Fundy. From an older museum collection dating to prior to WW I.
7.3 x 6.6 x 2.7 cm. When these first came out, nobody knew they were thomsonites, a rare zeolite that had never been seen in this size and richness. It was actually still during the show where they were introduced that word got around what they were, and they were quickly bought up by dealers. Here are 6 intergrown globes of the form that was typical for this isolated find in the Aurangabad forest of India.
9.4 x 5.8 x 3.6 cm. A very rich specimen of this rare zeolite species, which seldom crystallizes in zeolite deposits to the same degree as its more common cousins. This specimen is interesting in that it shows layered growth of different-colored thomsonite crystals in spherical aggregates, and is from a classic old locality.
7.8 x 6.0 x 2.6 cm. A very rich specimen of this rare zeolite species, which seldom crystallizes in zeolite deposits to the same degree as its more common cousins. This specimen is a rich example, from a classic old locality.
12.1 x 8.1 x 4.0 cm. This is firstly a very rich cabinet-sized specimen of this rare zeolite species, which seldom crystallizes in zeolite deposits to the same degree as its more common cousins. This specimen is interesting in that it shows layered growth of the thomsonite which served as host for epitaxial crystallization, later, of natrolite. The natrolite crystals are oriented discretely with respect to the underlying thomsonites (this phenomenon is epitaxy), and appear to cover the plate entirely. I had not seen this material before, and am told it is from an old find here.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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share specimen![Thomsonite on Prehnite from Lower New St. Quarry, West Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, USA [db_pics/pics/d06-218a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/d06-218a.jpg)
![Thomsonite on Prehnite from Lower New St. Quarry, West Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, USA [db_pics/pics/d06-218b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/d06-218b.jpg)
![Thomsonite on Prehnite from Lower New St. Quarry, West Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, USA [db_pics/pics/d06-218c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/d06-218c.jpg)
![Thomsonite (rare!) from Wessels Mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, South Africa [db_pics/pics/k259a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/k259a.jpg)
![Thomsonite (rare!) from Wessels Mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, South Africa [db_pics/pics/k259b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/k259b.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India [db_pics/mdpics/MD-113678a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-113678a.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Wessels Mine (Wessel's Mine), Hotazel, Kalahari manganese fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa [db_pics/mdpics/MD-122295a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-122295a.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India [db_pics/mdpics/MD-142234a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-142234a.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India [db_pics/mdpics/MD-144979a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-144979a.jpg)
![Thomsonite, Epistilbite from Chinchwad, Maharashtra, India [db_pics/mdpics/MD-153356a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-153356a.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India [db_pics/mdpics/MD-162443a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-162443a.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India [db_pics/mdpics/MD-163191a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-163191a.jpg)
![Thomsonite-Ca from Thomsonite Beach, Grand Marais, Cook Co., Minnesota, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-19325a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-19325a.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Cape Blomidon, Bay of Fundy, Kings Co., Nova Scotia, Canada [db_pics/mdpics/MD-200654a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-200654a.jpg)
![Thomsonite from Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India [db_pics/mdpics/MD-203096a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-203096a.jpg)
![Thomsonite-Ca from Hammerunterwiesenthal, Oberwiesenthal, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany [db_pics/mdpics/MD-223934a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-223934a.jpg)
![Thomsonite-Ca from Hammerunterwiesenthal, Oberwiesenthal, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany [db_pics/mdpics/MD-223934b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-223934b.jpg)
![Thomsonite-Ca from Hammerunterwiesenthal, Oberwiesenthal, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany [db_pics/mdpics/MD-223943a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-223943a.jpg)
![Thomsonite-Ca from Hammerunterwiesenthal, Oberwiesenthal, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany [db_pics/mdpics/MD-223943b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-223943b.jpg)
![Natrolite, Thomsonite-Ca from Hammerunterwiesenthal, Oberwiesenthal, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany [db_pics/mdpics/MD-223951a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-223951a.jpg)
![Natrolite, Thomsonite-Ca from Hammerunterwiesenthal, Oberwiesenthal, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany [db_pics/mdpics/MD-223951b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-223951b.jpg)