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Download hereGENERAL DESCRIPTION
Babingtonite is a mineral that contains both ferrous iron (Fe2+) and ferric iron (Fe3+), which confers a magnetism to this mineral. With a very dark colour, green to black, this mineral is generally presented as small prismatic crystal clusters. It is easily identifiable because it is only the mineral black found together with white or slightly coloured zeolites, within cavities of the volcanic rocks.
Babingtonite is a rare mineral. Beautiful crystals come from the quarry Lane & Sons in the county from Hampden, Massachusetts, USA as well as many other neighbouring localities and of the New Jersey and new Hampshire. Many facies are known in Italy (Baveno in Piedmont and Calangianus in Sardinia) and in Norway (area of Arendal) and Sweden (Grönsjöberget close to Borlänge, area of Dalarna). Recently of very beautiful units were found in Sichuan in China (in particular in Hongquizhen and Qiaojia) as well as in India (Khandivali near Bombay and Poonah/Nasik, Maharashtra).
In France, it was found in Raon-l'Etape (Vosges).
Species is described from the samples of the Forster-Heuland-Turner mineral collection.
HISTORY : Species dedicated to the Irish mineralogist William Babington (1757-1833)
Species first described in 1824 by Serve-Dieu Abailard (dit Armand) Lévy (1795-1841), French mineralogist, from samples of Forster-Heuland-Turner collection
Type-locality: Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway
CHEMICAL FORMULA : Ca2 (Fe2+, Mn) Fe3+ Si5O14 (OH)
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Triclinic
COLOR : Green blackish, black
DIAPHANIETY : Opaque to translucent
LUSTER : Vitreous
STREAK : Light green
MORPHOLOGIE : Prismatic crystals, striated, forming aggregates
HARDNESS : 5,5-6,0
CHEMICAL CLASS: 5,5-6,0
DENSITY : VIII - Silicates
GROUP : Rhodonite
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 8/F.27-20
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 9.DK.05
