Deccan Flood Basalts, Maharashtra State, India
The quarries of the Deccan Flood Basalts are among our Top 12 Mineral Localities.
The localities hosted by the Deccan flood basalts in India are the source of the world’s finest zeolite and “zeolite-related” specimens. Specifically, the mesolite, scolecite, stilbite, stellerite, goosecreekite, fluorapophyllite, okenite, gyrolite, cavansite, pentagonite and powellite are easily among the world’s best.
The basalt, from which these magnificent minerals are extracted, formed when lava spewed from cracks in the earth's crust and then spread out over a wide area, cooled and hardened. The cavities in which these crystals grew are actually gas bubbles that formed in the flowing lava as it escaped from the pressures deep within the earth, much like the bubbles that form in a soda pop when the cap is removed. Groundwater carrying dissolved minerals flowed through the porous rock and entered the pockets, precipitating these delicate crystals inside the voids.
The term "pillow" basalts is often used to describe some of the rocks of these flows. This term is used for basalts that erupted under water or flowed into water. In doing so, the lava formed as piles of flattened, lobate masses that look like a stack of pillows. The basalt flows of the Deccan Plateau, cover more than 200,000 square miles and have yielded countless fine quality zeolite specimens. The name "zeolite" refers to a group of silicate minerals characterized by crystallographic structures that form distinct channels at the atomic level. These channel ways have distinct measurements and properties in each zeolite mineral, which allows them to be used as chemical filters. Ironically, although zeolites are common and found worldwide, many of the industrial varieties are grown synthetically by the ton.
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Apophyllite + Stilbite + Calcite.
Wagholi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
$3337 *
115mm x 110mm x 55mm
From: A Bijoux
Pentagonite
Wagholi Quarries, Pune Dist., Pune Div., Maharashtra, India
$1250
20mm x 10mm x 10mm
From: The Arkenstone
Stilbite cast after Okenite
Pune, Maharashtra State, India
$950
70mm x 50mm x 20mm
From: The Arkenstone
Epistilbite
Khumbhari Village, Nasik, Maharashtra State, India
$350
75mm x 50mm x 50mm
From: Marin Minerals
gem POWELLITE
Pandulena Hills, Nashik District (Nasik District), Maharashtra, India
$185
29mm x 25mm x 21mm
From: Quebul Fine Minerals
Chalcedony on Scolecite from India
Chandanapuri, Maharashtra, India
$325
62mm x 56mm x 34mm
Powellite on Stilbite
Nashik District, Maharashtra, India
$1400
20mm x 20mm x 10mm
From: The Arkenstone
Calcite with Fluorapophyllite-K
Pune, Maharashtra, India
$90
50mm x 35mm x 15mm
From: Weinrich Minerals
Pentagonite
Wagholi Quarry, near Poona, Maharashtra, India
$750
50mm x 50mm x 30mm
From: The Arkenstone
Calcite with Apophyllite
Pashan Hills, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$300
70mm x 50mm x 45mm
From: Marin Minerals
Cavansite with Stilbite
Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$100
50mm x 44mm x 39mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Apophyllite and Prehnite
Pune (Poonah) District, Lonavala, Maharashtra, India
$25
27mm x 24mm x 14mm
From: Bob Griffis Minerals
Cavansite in Calcite with Stilbite
Wagholi Quarry, Pune Dist., Maharashtra State, India
$650
65mm x 65mm x 40mm
From: Marin Minerals
Apophyllite with Chalcedony & Quartz
Ahmadnagar District, Maharashtra, India
$66 *
30mm x 45mm x 25mm
From: Taranis Minerals
Pentagonite on Stilbite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$20000
80mm x 60mm x 50mm
From: The Arkenstone
