NATROLITE, LOTTAH ROAD QUARRY, TASMANIA (Cabinet)

THIS PARTICULAR SPECIMEN IS FROM 

Little Plains Quarry,  Lottah Road Quarry, Fieldwicks Quarry or the Weldborough Pass Quarry (several names for the same quarry, to make things easy)

Natrolite is a mineral species classified as a tectosilicate and is part of the zeolite group. It is a hydrated sodium and aluminum silicate with the chemical formula Na2Al2Si3O10·2H2O, and its type locality is Hohentwiel in Hegau, Germany. 

The mineral was named natrolite by Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1803, with the name originating from the Greek word for soda, "natron," reflecting its sodium content, and "lithos," meaning stone. Informally referred to as needle stone or needle-zeolite, this designation highlights the typical acicular form of its crystals, which are often slender and arranged in divergent tufts. The crystals may also exhibit epitaxial overgrowths of natrolite, mesolite, and gonnardite in various configurations.