Datolite Archives - Cochise College Geology

Datolite

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Chemical Group: Silicate

Chemical Formula: HCaBSiO₅

Color: White, grayish, pale green, yellow, red, honey-yellow,
olive green

Streak: White Transparency: Transparent to translucent

Hardness: 5 to 5.5 Specific Gravity: 2.9 to 3.0

Luster: Vitreous, sub-resinous

Cleavage: Not observed

Crystal Forms: Monoclinic system. Crystals are usually short and prismatic.

Habit: Botryoidal, columnar, massive

Mineral Associations: Found in cavities in basalt; associated with calcite and zeolites.

Uses: Rarely as a gemstone

Occurrences: Crystals from New Jersey; pink massive nodules Lake Superior region.

Toxicity: When-swallowed: low When-inhaled: high

Additional Information: Datolite is a hydrous calcium boron silicate often associated with zeolites in basalt. The Datolite from northern Michigan occurs as cryptocrystalline fillings within gas bubble holes in basalt (amygdules). The most common color of the Michigan Datolite is white but they be colored various shades of grayish pink by inclusions of microscopic-sized flakes of native copper.

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Photos

Datolite 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Datolite - Gray Botryoidal Nugget - Michigan

datolite-pale color nugget-Michigan — Datolite - Pale Color Nugget - Michigan

datolite-polished nuggets-Michigan — Datolite - Polished Nuggets - Michigan

datolite-polished surface-red color from microscopic copper specks-Michigan — Datolite - Polished Surface - Red Color From Microscopic Copper Specks - Michigan

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