Chemical Formula |
SrSO4 |
Composition |
Strontium sulfate, sometimes with small amounts of barium |
Variable Formula |
(Sr,Ba)SO4 |
Color |
Blue, white, colorless, orange, orange-brown, light brown, yellow, greenish-blue, gray. Crystals may also be slightly multicolored, with light blue on one end and colorless on the other. |
Streak |
White |
Hardness |
3 - 3.5 |
Crystal System |
Orthorhombic |
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Crystal Forms and Aggregates |
As prismatic and tabular crystals, and as thin tabular plates. Also in thick, pseudohexagonal trillings, as well as dense aggregates of such crystals. May also be massive, radiating, grainy, nodular, and botryoidal. Additional habits include fibrous masses, as dense clusters of tabular crystals, as fragile, elongated crystal clusters, as fillings in geodes, and as cleavage fragments. Crystals are sometimes striated, and occassionally contain phantom growths. |
Transparency |
Transparent to translucent |
Specific Gravity |
3.9 - 4.0 |
Luster |
Vitreous; pearly on cleavage surfaces |
Cleavage |
1,1 - basal ; 2,1 - prismatic ; 3,1 - pinacoidal |
Fracture |
Uneven |
Tenacity |
Brittle |
Other ID Marks |
1) Occasionally fluorescent in shortwave ultraviolet light. 2) May be thermoluminescent. |
In Group |
Sulfates; Anhydrous Sulfates |
Striking Features |
Crystal forms, color zoning in some specimens, and hardness. |
Environment |
In sedimentary rock such as limestone. Rarely in metal ore veins. |
Rock Type |
Sedimentary |
Popularity (1-4)
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1 |
Prevalence (1-3)
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1 |
Demand (1-3) |
1 |
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Celestine is the most common mineral containing the element strontium, and is its primary ore. It is a popular mineral among collectors, and the geodes from Madagascar are used as ornamental rocks.
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Fine Celestine specimens have been obtained from many localities worldwide. Blue and white crystals are found in Italy associated with bright yellow Sulfur
crystals in the famous Sicilian mines of Cattolico, Agrigento, Floristella, and Caltanissetta. Another locality of Celestine associated with Sulfur is the Machow Mine, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
Several important Spanish localities for this mineral are known, especially Puente Tablas, in Andalusia; Tora, in Catalonia; and Arneva, in Alicante. Fine crystals once came from Yate in Gloucester, England. Beineu-Kyr, Turkmenistan, is an uncommon yet desirable source of this mineral in the form of tabular and platy white crystals with red inclusions. Enormous blue Celestine crystals, some in geodes, are found in Madagascar, in Sakoany, Mahajanga Province. Red Celestine which at one time was thought to be Barite comes from the Hammam-Zriba Mine, Tunisia. Other African localities are Jabal Akhdar, Libya; and the Wessels Mine, Hotazel, South Africa. In Canada, Celestine comes from the Lafarge Quarry, Dundas; and from the Deforest Quarry, Inglewood, both in Ontario. In Mexico, Celestine is found in the Mojina Mine, Ahumada, Chihuahua; and in the Tule Mine, Melchor Múzquiz, Coahuila. Some of the best specimens of Celestine mineral are from the United States. The type locality and earliest occurrence is Bell's Mill, Bellwood, Blair Co., Pennsylvania, where it was found in fibrous veins. Another important Pennsylvania locality is the Meckley's Quarry, Mandata, Northumberland Co. A historic Celestine occurrence is Lockport, Niagara Co., New York, where this mineral was discovered while digging the Erie Canal. There are several other Celestine localities in central New York, especially Chittenango Falls, Madison Co; and Walworth, Wayne Co. The state of Ohio contains perhaps the greatest deposits. Especially of note is South Bass Island in Lake Erie, where giant pale blue crystals were obtained in the hamlet of Put-in-Bay. Also in Ohio are Lime City, Portage, and the Pugh Quarry, all in Wood Co.; and Clay Center, Ottawa Co., where the Celestine occurs with pale brown Calcite and Fluorite. Michigan contains well-known Celestine deposits in the Maybee and Scofield Quarries (near Maybee), and at the Newport Quarry, Monroe Co. Other U.S. occurrences are the Annabel Lee mine, Hardin Co., Illinois; Bull Creek, Austin, Travis Co., Texas; and Death Valley, Inyo Co., California, where it occurs as large, colorless crystals associated with Colemanite in geodes. Celestine in geodes is also found in the Summerville and Curtis Formations, Emery and Wayne Cos., Utah.
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Calcite, Barite, Fluorite, Gypsum, Dolomite, Galena, Sphalerite, Strontianite, Pyrite, Colemanite, Halite, Sulfur
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Barite - Very difficult to distinguish without locality information, although Barite is heavier. Gypsum - Softer, sectile, much lighter in weight. Calcite - Perfect rhombohedral cleavage, lighter in weight, effervesces in acid. Feldspars - Harder, lighter in weight. Fluorite - Forms only in isometric crystals, lighter in weight, has perfect cubic cleavage. Colemanite - Harder, lighter in weight.
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