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.
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Fluorite on Quartz
Mahodari Quarry, near Nasik, Maharashtra, India
$1200
79mm x 78mm x 46mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Braunite
Nagpur Dist., Nagpur Div., Maharashtra, India
$1800
20mm x 20mm x 10mm
From: The Arkenstone
Fluorapophyllite and Stilbite
Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India
$750
80mm x 70mm x 50mm
From: The Arkenstone
Cavansite with Stilbite
Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$50
46mm x 33mm x 31mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Cavansite with Calcite on Calcite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune Dist., Maharashtra, India
$6500
70mm x 50mm x 20mm
From: The Arkenstone
CAVANSITE
Wagholi, Pune District (Poonah District), Maharashtra, India
$90
18mm x 15mm x 10mm
From: Quebul Fine Minerals
Pentagonite with Stilbite
Wagholi quarry, near Poona, Maharashtra, India
$2800
60mm x 40mm x 30mm
From: The Arkenstone
