NEPTUNITE, JOAQUINITE, JONESITE (?) ON NATROLITE with SERPENTINE, SAN BENITO COUNTY, BENITOITE GEM MT DIABLO, CA, USA (small cabinet)
Neptunite is a silicate mineral characterized by the formula KNa2Li(Fe2+, Mn2+)2Ti2Si8O24. It forms a series with mangan-neptunite as manganese content increases, while watatsumiite is a variant where vanadium substitutes titanium in the composition. First identified in 1893 from the Narssârssuk pegmatite in West Greenland, neptunite is also located in natrolite veins within glaucophane schist in San Benito County, California, as well as in Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The mineral derives its name from Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, due to its connection with aegirine, named after Àgir, the Scandinavian sea deity.
Joaquinite, with the chemical formula (Ce), NaBa2Ce2FeTi2[Si4O12]2O2(OH,F) · H2O, is an exceptionally rare silicate mineral that contains cerium and exhibits a honey-yellow to brown hue along with a vitreous luster. It was named in 1909 by G.D. Louderback and W.C. Blasdale, referencing the Joaquin Ridge in the Diablo Range, the site of its discovery, which also borders the San Joaquin Valley. The name reflects its cerium content, a designation added by Nickel & Mandarino in 1987.
There is a transparent mineral on this specimen, yet to be identified but most likely it is jonesite.
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