Deccan Flood Basalts, Maharashtra State, India
The quarries of the Deccan Flood Basalts are among our Top 12 Mineral Localities.
The localities hosted by the Deccan flood basalts in India are the source of the world’s finest zeolite and “zeolite-related” specimens. Specifically, the mesolite, scolecite, stilbite, stellerite, goosecreekite, fluorapophyllite, okenite, gyrolite, cavansite, pentagonite and powellite are easily among the world’s best.
The basalt, from which these magnificent minerals are extracted, formed when lava spewed from cracks in the earth's crust and then spread out over a wide area, cooled and hardened. The cavities in which these crystals grew are actually gas bubbles that formed in the flowing lava as it escaped from the pressures deep within the earth, much like the bubbles that form in a soda pop when the cap is removed. Groundwater carrying dissolved minerals flowed through the porous rock and entered the pockets, precipitating these delicate crystals inside the voids.
The term "pillow" basalts is often used to describe some of the rocks of these flows. This term is used for basalts that erupted under water or flowed into water. In doing so, the lava formed as piles of flattened, lobate masses that look like a stack of pillows. The basalt flows of the Deccan Plateau, cover more than 200,000 square miles and have yielded countless fine quality zeolite specimens. The name "zeolite" refers to a group of silicate minerals characterized by crystallographic structures that form distinct channels at the atomic level. These channel ways have distinct measurements and properties in each zeolite mineral, which allows them to be used as chemical filters. Ironically, although zeolites are common and found worldwide, many of the industrial varieties are grown synthetically by the ton.
Filter Options:
Order By:
Fluorapophyllite and Stilbite
Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India
$750
80mm x 70mm x 50mm
From: The Arkenstone
Cavansite with Stilbite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune Dist., Pune Div., Maharashtra, India
$3500
50mm x 40mm x 30mm
From: The Arkenstone
Stilbite cast after Okenite
Pune, Maharashtra State, India
$950
70mm x 50mm x 20mm
From: The Arkenstone
Apophyllite + Stilbite + Calcite.
Wagholi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
$3337 *
115mm x 110mm x 55mm
From: A Bijoux
Cavansite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune Dist., Maharashtra, India
$2400
30mm x 20mm x 20mm
From: The Arkenstone
Apophyllite with Chalcedony & Quartz
Ahmadnagar District, Maharashtra, India
$51 *
50mm x 37mm x 26mm
From: Taranis Minerals
Stellerite, Epistilbite, Fluorapophyllite
Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India
$950
130mm x 90mm x 70mm
From: The Arkenstone
Yugawaralite
Malad Quarry, Mumbai, Mumbai Dist., Maharashtra, India
$1160
30mm x 20mm x 10mm
From: The Arkenstone
Stilbite and Apophyllite (Sinkankas)
Nashik quarries, Nashik District, Maharashtra, India
$240
67mm x 60mm x 44mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
CALCITE, QUARTZ
Sinnar, Nashik District, Nashik Division, Maharashtra, India
$270
73mm x 38mm x 19mm
From: Quebul Fine Minerals
Stilbite on Fluorapophyllite
Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India
$1250
70mm x 60mm x 30mm
From: The Arkenstone