Cavansite on a zeolite matrix.
Cavansite was named for its chemical composition: hydrated calcium vanadium silicate. Cavansite is a relatively rare mineral technically classified as a “phyllosilicate”. It is typically found in association with—and nestled atop— zeolite minerals. Specimens were first announced in 1967 from Malheur County in the U.S. state of Oregon, which is an area rich in zeolites. But a more common locality for specimens that you’ll see at gem shows and in the online marketplace is the Deccan Traps of Poona (or Pune), India, which is another great source for zeolite minerals.
Cavansite occurs as ball-like clusters or “spherulitic rosettes” of brilliantly vivid blue radiating, pointed, orthorhombic crystals, which are transparent to translucent withvitreous to pearly luster. Such crystals range in hardness from Mohs 3 to Mohs 4, and they leave a bluish-white streak on an unglazed porcelain streak plate. they formed during secondary mineralization in deposits of lava, including bothbasalt and andesite. Cavansite contains the valuable metal vanadium that is used in producing steel alloys, particularly alloys useful in the creation of high-speed steel tools. Vanadium is also used as a catalyst in producing sulfuric acid.
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December 2019
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