Gonnardite

gonnardite

natrolite

chabazite

thomsonite

Images

Formula: (Na,Ca)2(Si,Al)5O10.3H2O tectosilicate (framework silicate), zeolite group
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Specific gravity: 2.25 to 2.36 measured, 2.33 calculated
Hardness: 4½ to 5
Streak: White
Colour: Colourless, white, yellow, pink to salmon-orange
Environments:

Volcanic Igneous environments
Pegmatites
Metamorphic environments (rarely)
Basaltic cavities

Gonnardite occurs as a secondary mineral in silica-poor volcanic rocks and pegmatites, and rarely in skarn. Crystals are often found with cores of gonnardite and rims of thomsonite. It also forms overgrowths on natrolite.

Localities

At Abbotsford and Bundoora, inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, gonnardite-natrolite occurs in cavities in basalt associated with chabazite and calcite or with phillipsite and thomsonite (AJM 20.1.44-46).

Back to Minerals