Analcime

Analcime tends to occur as well developed crystals in a range of colours, typically in trapezohedrons. It is almost entirely collected for mineral specimens.

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Appearance

Analcime tends to occur as well developed crystals in a range of colours, typically in trapezohedrons.

Uses and History

Analcime is essentially only used as mineral specimens, it has no use in industry other than analcime-bearing tuffs sometimes being crushed for hardcore.

 

Alright, lets get the elephant in the room sorted out.

The name analcime comes from the greek ‘analkimos’, meaning ‘weak’ or ‘without force’, as a reference to the weak electrostatic charge that occurs when the mineral is rubbed.

 

It was first described by the French geologist Déodat de Dolomieu as zéolithe dure, a ‘hard zeolite’, found in lava in Sicily, Italy. It was later renamed to Analcime by the French mineralogist Rene Just Haüy, who is responsible for many student giggles.

 

Locales

Analcime is a rather wide spread mineral but some excellent locales are listed below.

Africa:

  • Brandberg, Namibia

Asia:

  • Toura, Siberia, Russia

Europe:

South America:

Antarctica:

Australia and Oceania:

North America:

  • Coleman, Alberta, Canada
  • Lake Superior, Michigan, USA
  • Poudrette, Quebec, Canada
  • Springfield, Oregon, USA

Mineralogy

Chemistry
A zeolite mineral with the formula NaAlSi2O6 · H2O
Colours and Variations

White, colourless, grey, pink, green, yellow, orangeish.

Streak
White
Luster
Vitreous
Fracture
Uneven to subconchoidal
Crystal habit
Crystalline, typically trapezohedral. Sometimes massive.
Mohs hardness
5-5.5
Fluorescence
Sometimes, often greenish
Specific Gravity
2.24-2.29
Easiest testing method
Weakly piezoelectric and electrostatic.

Hazards and Warnings

Almost all rocks, minerals (and, frankly, almost all other substances on earth) can produce toxic dust when cutting, which can cause serious respiratory conditions including silicosis.

When cutting or polishing rocks, minerals, shells, etc, all work should be done wet to minimise the dust, and a suitable respirator or extraction system should be used.

 

Translations

Arabic:

Hindi:

Portuguese:

  • analcima

Bengali:

Indonesian:

Punjabi:

English:

Italian:

Russian:

  • анальцим

French:

Japanese:

  • 方沸石

Spanish:

  • anacima

German:

  • Analcim

Korean:

Thai:

Gujurati:

Mandarin Chinese:

  • 方沸石

Urdu:

Further Reading / External Links

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analcime
  • https://www.mindat.org/min-210.html
  • https://www.webmineral.com/data/Analcime.shtml