Cavansite with Stilbite

specimen number:
2063323

location:
Wagholi Quarries, Pune, Maharashtra, India

description:
A beautiful combination piece with a vivid deep blue sparkling lustrous ball of cavansite crystals 1.8 cm in diameter set perfectly up on matrix with crystals of stilbite. The stilbite is white in color, while most of the stilbite crystals are tiny, there are several larger crystals, including one that is double terminated and measures over 3.0 cm in length. These are all aesthetically arranged up on the matrix and in great condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark who acquired it in 2003.

The Wagholi Quarries near Pune, Maharashtra, India, are set within the volcanic basalt flows of the Deccan Traps, where hydrothermal fluid activity inside rock cavities and breccias favored the growth of secondary minerals. Although active commercial basalt quarrying was driven by construction needs, workers discovered rich deposits of brilliant, electric-blue cavansite in the mid-1970s and 1980s. Wagholi quickly gained international fame among mineral collectors and museums for producing the finest known prismatic cavansite crystals, often set against contrasting white stilbite matrices. Mineral collecting at the site has become legendary, though active commercial mining in the primary cavansite-bearing zones has mostly ceased today.

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