Mogánite

moganite

chalcedony

opal

tridymite

Images

Formula: SiO2.nH2O
Oxide, paramorph of coesite, cristobalite, keatite, quartz, quartz-beta, seifertite, stishovite, tridymite, UM2000-61-SiO and xiexiandeite
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 2.52 to 2.58 measured, 2.55 calculated
Hardness: 6
Colour: Grey
Environments

Volcanic igneous environments
Basaltic cavities

Mogánite is nearly pure silica, with water contents of ~2 to 3 wt%. It is a common component of agate, chert and flint, and is associated with quartz, chalcedony and opal (HOM).

Localities

At Killari, Latur District, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Division, Maharashtra, India, chalcedony, with or without agate banding, occurs as amygdaloidal and vein fillings beside zeolites in the Deccan flood basalts. In samples collected from a depth of 122 metres in a borehole, mogánite, in addition to α-quartz, has been found. Mogánite of Killari is associated with amygdaloidal flows containing the zeolites chabazite, natrolite, heulandite and mordenite, but is absent in flows with laumontite, indicating the stability of moganite up to the laumontite zone (EJM 13.1.127-134).

At the type locality, Mogán, Gran Canaria, Las Palmas Province, Canary Islands, Spain, mogánite is composed of tightly bound fibres with parallel texture and thickness of 0.1 to 1 microns. The space between is filled with chalcedony or opal. Goethite is also associated. Tridymite is abundant in the ignimbrites.
The mogánite occurs as nodular masses 1 to 5 cm across in pores and cavities of shear-fissures, or filling vertical and horizontal cooling cracks as platy masses 1 to 10 mm in thickness in rhyolitic ignimbrites (AM 70.874).
Mogánite from Mogán - Image

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