GEO 006
Wollastonite
Class: Minerals
Locatin: New York, USA
Details: has garnets
I haven't posted up any of the more display type minerals yet so here is one of them, albeit a tad boring due to it's lack of color. This is called Wollastonite, named after W.H. Wollaston, and has the chemical formula of CaSiO
3, making it a silicate. It was originally retrieved from somewhere in New York, but judging from the fact that it is made in metamorphic processes I'm guessing the Adirondack Mountains area. I purchased it at a Rock and Gem show in Newark, New York and picked this guy out because of how similar it looks to salt and pepper. Thought it was an interesting specimen. The fact that it has those garnets also leads to my belief that it was found in the metamorphic region of the Adirondacks.
Anyway, the original label had 'Garnet-Diopside' written on it so I am guessing that the black specks, the pepper if you will, are those garnets as wollastonite is generally white, the salt part. In general however, wollastonite is used in ceramics and paints. It actually isn't all that interesting a mineral but its uniqueness comes from that interesting color combination. And I just learned from this site that the 'hot spot' for wollastonite in New York is Willsboro, which is right on the Northeastern edge of the Adirondacks, confirming my suspicions.
Oh, and happy first post of the month!
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