Log InRegister
Search For:
Mineral Name:
Locality Name:
Keyword(s):
 
Home PageAbout MindatThe Mindat ManualHistory of MindatCopyright StatusWho We AreOur ScienceMindat Newsletter [Free Download]Contact Us
Donate to MindatSponsor a PageCorporate SponsorshipSponsored Pages
Learning CenterWhat Is a Mineral?The Most Common Minerals on EarthInformation for EducatorsMindat ArticlesMindat Newsletter [Free Download]The ElementsThe Mineral Quiz
Search FormMinerals by PropertiesMinerals by ChemistryMineral Visual ExplorerAdvanced Locality SearchRandom MineralRandom LocalitySearch by minIDMinerals by CountryAlphabetical Mineral IndexAlphabetical Locality SearchMineral Association SearchList of CountriesLocalities Near MePhoto SearchSearch ArticlesSearch GlossaryThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryMore Search Options
The Mindat ManualAdd a New PhotoRate PhotosLocality Edit ReportCoordinate Completion ReportAdd Glossary Item
MineralsPetrologyFossilsMeteoritesGeologic Time
Mining CompaniesStatisticsMineral MuseumsClubs & OrganizationsMineral Shows & EventsDevice SettingsTime Machine
Read DiscussionsIdentification Request
Photo SearchPhoto GalleriesSearch by ColourPhoto Colour ExplorerNew Photos TodayNew Photos YesterdayMembers' Photo GalleriesPast Photo of the Day GalleryPhotography

Identity HelpGreen micros from Qiaojia, Yunnan, China

18th Feb 2013 16:25 UTCHarold Moritz 🌟 Manager OP

I recently obtained a nice specimen of prehnite and quartz from this locality:

http://www.mindat.org/loc-108598.html

The mineralogy and the occurrence in basalt is very similar to that found in the Holyoke Basalt here in Connecticut and Massachusetts. However, I did find on my piece green, tabular micro crystals that are not listed on the mindat page and do not appear similar to anything here. They are not babingtonite, which also occurs on my piece as blocky, black micros just like those in the locality page photos. These clear, green crystals have a crystal form similar to tabular datolite found here in Connecticut, (see http://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?loc=5370&min=1340) but the tabular datolites here are colorless to white (blocky datolites are pale green only). The color is like epidote, but the form does not seem at all right.

Being micros there's not much I can do in the way of physical testing, but the crystal habit and forms out to be enough to anyone familiar with this mineral. I'd like to identify it so it can be added to the locality page.

Thanks!

18th Feb 2013 17:56 UTCLefteris Rantos Expert

The xl habit looks like Titanite.


Lefteris.

18th Feb 2013 18:56 UTCRob Woodside 🌟 Manager

I agree with Lefteris.

18th Feb 2013 20:21 UTCSpencer Ivan Mather

I also agree, they certainly look like titanites to me too..

19th Feb 2013 17:42 UTCHarold Moritz 🌟 Manager OP

OK, I agree they do look like titanite, but I have never encountered that mineral in basalt pockets before, and I've seen thousands of such specimens from the US. The closest thing is green sphalerite micros, but they have a different form and are usually isolated.

Thus the mineral is apparently so out of context I didnt consider that ID. Perhaps it's occurrence in basalt is unique to the Qiaojia locality?

19th Feb 2013 18:37 UTCJohn Sobolewski Expert

They could also be Epidote crystals. John S.

19th Feb 2013 18:42 UTCGary Moldovany

I have several specimens containing titanite crystals from Fort Lee, NJ, which I believe is in the Palisades Diabase. Isn't that a basalt type? The crystals are brown and don't look like these at all, however.

20th Feb 2013 19:13 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager

I agree with John - possibly epidote.

20th Feb 2013 23:07 UTCHarold Moritz 🌟 Manager OP

Thank you all for the feedback. I thought about epidote as it is more likely for basalt (I've seen that), but I'm having a hard time seeing these forms as epidote as I'm accustomed to the forms found in the metamorphic rocks here. But after looking through Goldschmidt at epidote and titanite, I could see right away that the titanite forms were all wrong. Whereas the epidote shown on Figure 130 (Band 3, Tafel 126 - page 128 of the mindat scan file) shows the forms very well, especially the T, n and M faces. The small faces above and below M on mine are absent and n is longer and M smaller (down to a tiny triangle), but the arrangement and angles between faces look spot on. So I'm going with epidote!
 
and/or  
Mindat.org® is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Mindat® and mindat.org® are registered trademarks of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2026, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau.
Content on this site may not be used to train, fine-tune, or otherwise develop artificial intelligence or machine learning models without prior written permission - see our Terms & Conditions.
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: October 20, 2026 04:10:23
Go to top of page