The Mineral BABINGTONITE

Babingtonite is a mineral that was unknown to science before the start of the twentieth century. It is an unusual mineral in three respects. It contains both divalent (+2) and trivalent (+3) iron ions and this causes a very weak magnetism that could turn the needle of a compass. It is opaque and brilliantly vitreous. It also is the only black mineral found with the typically white or pale colored zeolites. This sets it off and makes it easy to see the normally small crystals among the other minerals in a zeolitic pocket. Babingtonite is somewhat scarce and its presence in a specimen tends to raise the value of the specimen considerably. Babingtonite, although scarce, is found in almost all rare mineral collections.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

 

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