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, near Nasik, Maharashtra, India
$950
56mm x 53mm x 48mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Calcite, gyrolite, prehnite
Malad Quarry, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
$250
87mm x 69mm x 62mm
From: Spirifer Minerals
Pentagonite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune Dist., Pune Div., Maharashtra, India
$2750
20mm x 20mm x 20mm
From: The Arkenstone
Cavansite with Stilbite
Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$50
50mm x 39mm x 35mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Apophyllite with Chalcedony & Quartz
Ahmadnagar District, Maharashtra, India
$66 *
30mm x 45mm x 25mm
From: Taranis Minerals
Cavansite on Mordenite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune Dist., Maharashtra, India
$9000
70mm x 40mm x 40mm
From: The Arkenstone
Fluorite on Quartz
Mahodari Quarry, near Nasik, Maharashtra, India
$1200
79mm x 78mm x 46mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Apophyllite
Pune (Poonah) District, Lonavala, Maharashtra, India
$20
21mm x 12mm x 8mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
PENTAGONITE
Wagholi, Pune District (Poonah District), Maharashtra, India
$135
22mm x 9mm x 9mm
From: Quebul Fine Minerals
Cavansite on Mordenite with Stilbite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$15000
70mm x 50mm x 40mm
From: The Arkenstone
Cavansite with Stilbite
Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$50
33mm x 27mm x 15mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals