Ekanite

ekanite

thorite

zircon

titanite

Images

Formula: Ca₂ThSi₈O₂₀
Phyllosilicate (sheet silicate), thorium-bearing mineral
Crystal System: Tetragonal
Specific gravity: 2.95 to 3.28 measured, 3.36 calculated
Hardness: 4½
Streak: White
Colour: Green in various shades, straw-yellow, dark red, colourless
Common impurities: U,Fe,Pb,Al,Mn,Pb,Mg
RADIOACTIVE
Environments

Plutonic igneous environments
Volcanic ejecta
Detrital deposits

Ekanite is very often metamict (Mindat).

Localities

At the Tombstone Mountains, Dawson mining district, Yukon, Canada, ekanite has been found in a glacial erratic syenitic boulder, associated with fluorite, garnet, quartz, microcline, clinopyroxene, apatite, sodic plagioclase, hematite, thorogummite, zircon and titanite (HOM).

At Case Collina, Pitigliano, Grosseto Province, Tuscany, Italy, ekanite occurs in volcanic ejecta, associated with quartz, feldspar and pyroxene (HOM).

At the type locality, Ehiliyagoda, Ratnapura, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, ekanite is a detrital mineral (HOM).

Back to Minerals