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Cavansite on stilbite

Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum
Tucson, Arizona

Sunday Challenge: Find the intruder

Present a photo of any subject including something that should not be there and ask viewers to find it. It can be something obvious or obscure. A black chair in a sea of red chairs, a mis-colored brick in a wall, a hammer amongst the kitchen utensils, etc.

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13 comments

Gillian Everett said:

Fascinating rock, and cavansite blue.
2 weeks ago

Xata said:

On the bottom of the cavansite there are two blue “things” maybe not part of?
2 weeks ago

Kayleigh said:

Super interessant !!!
2 weeks ago ( translate )

Annemarie said:

most beautiful find

Happy new week:)
2 weeks ago

Jaap van 't Veen said:

What a beautiful BLUE colour.
2 weeks ago

PhLB - Luc Boonen said:

minerals are fascinating, this one very special. My guess, this is Copper(II) sulfate, with the formula CuSO₄. The pure anhydrous substance occurs as a white crystalline powder. However, copper(II) sulfate readily forms blue crystals of the pentahydrate: CuSO₄·5H₂O. Anhydrous copper(II) sulfate occurs in nature in the form of the mineral hydrocyanite. The pentahydrate occurs as the mineral chalcanthite.
2 weeks ago

Esther replied to PhLB - Luc Boonen:

According to Wikipedia, the formula is Ca(VO)Si4O10·4(H2O).

"Cavansite, named for its chemical composition of calcium vanadium silicate, is a deep blue hydrous calcium vanadium phyllosilicate mineral, occurring as a secondary mineral in basaltic and andesitic rocks along with a variety of zeolite minerals. Its blue coloring comes from vanadium, a metal ion.[6] Discovered in 1967 in Malheur County, Oregon, cavansite is a relatively rare mineral. It is polymorphic with the even rarer mineral, pentagonite. It is most frequently found in Pune, India, and in the Deccan Traps, a large igneous province."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavansite

But it sure sounds as if you know your minerals, as minerals containing copper are often blue or green.
2 weeks ago ( translate )

Gudrun said:

Fantastic, the blue is really something!
I have never before seen cavansite and had to read it up:-) You could say it's an intruder but so is the stilbite- both developing hydrothermally in cavities in basalt or tuff. In your photo one can also see the (I presume) basalt.
2 weeks ago

Günter Klaus said:

Das ist ja ein wunderschönes Bild von dieser Steinsammlung liebe Esther :))

Wünsche noch einen schönen Tag,liebe Grüße Güni :))
2 weeks ago ( translate )

Don Sutherland said:

Gorgeous capture.
2 weeks ago ( translate )

William Sutherland said:

Amazing capture!

Admired in: www.ipernity.com/group/tolerance
2 weeks ago ( translate )

Patrick Brandy said:

Très beau cette roche agréable journée.
2 weeks ago ( translate )

Esther said:

Thank you for all of your visits and comments.
2 weeks ago