| - Art Gallery - |
Benitoite (ben-EE-toe-ite) is a rare blue barium titanium silicate mineral, found in hydrothermally altered serpentinite. Benitoite fluoresces under short wave ultraviolet light, appearing light blue in color. It was first described in 1907 by George D. Louderback, who named it benitoite for its occurrence near the headwaters of the San Benito River in San Benito County, California.[3][4] Uses of benitoite Benitoite's main uses are as collector's specimens. Benitoite's hardness also makes it suitable for use as a gemstone, although the general lack of usable material has limited this use. Benitoite was among the first, if not the first, gem/mineral to undergo x-ray crystallography. Associated minerals and locations Benitoite typically occurs with an unusual set of minerals, along with minerals that make up its host rock. Frequently associated minerals include: natrolite, neptunite, joaquinite, serpentine and albite Benitoite is a rare mineral found in very few locations including San Benito County, California, Japan and Arkansas. In the San Benito occurrence, it is found in natrolite veins within glaucophane schist within a serpentinite body. In Japan, it occurs in a magnesio-riebeckite-quartz-phlogopite-albite dike cutting a serpentinite body.[5] Benitoite is typically found with some combination of natrolite, joaquinite, and neptunite on a greenish-grey serpentinite base. Benitoite, as of 1985, is the official state gem of California. The mineral is known to occur in gemstone quality, only in California. [6][7] References 1. ^ http://webmineral.com/data/Benitoite.shtml WebMineral Listing Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
 |
|
|||||||||||