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Formula: Ca2Fe2+Fe3+Si5O14(OH)
Inosilicate (chain silicate), rhodonite group
Forms a series with manganbabingtonite, and
hedenbergite is an epitaxial mineral
(Mindat).
Crystal System: Triclinic
Specific gravity: 3.34 to 3.37
Hardness: 5½ to 6
Streak: Brown
Colour: Dark greenish-black
Solubility: Insoluble in acids
Common impurities: Ti,Al,Mg,Na
Environments:
Plutonic Igneous environments
Volcanic Igneous environments
Pegmatites
Metamorphic environments
Hydrothermal environments
Basaltic cavities
Babingtonite is characteristically a low temperature hydrothermal mineral (AM17.295-303). It occurs in veins cutting
granite
pegmatite and
diorite, in cavities and vugs in mafic volcanic
rocks and
gneiss and in skarn. Associated minerals include
prehnite,
calcite, epidote, albite,
orthoclase, garnet,
quartz, hornblende and
zeolites
(HOM).
Localities
The Two Mile and Three Mile deposits, Paddy's River, Paddys River District, Australian Capital Territory, Australia,
are skarn deposits at the contact between
granodiorite and volcanic rocks.
Babingtonite is a primary silicate that was found as two
black, twinned crystals in a piece of altered laumontite-bearing
dacite near the Two Mile deposit
(AJM 22.1.33).
At Nassau, Germany, babingtonite occurs in contact medium grained
mafic intrusive rocks and
slate associated with ilvaite,
beudantite, chalcedony variety jasper and
calcite
(AM 17.295-303).
At the Malad quarry, Mumbai District, Maharashtra, India, babingtonite occurs in basalt, in
cavities in which
laumontite and prehnite casts after
laumontite occur. The babingtonite formed at about 200oC and 500 kbar, after
calcite and before quartz and
prehnite. Pyrite is a common associate, but babingtonite
has not been found here in association with ilvaite,
julgoldite, pumpellyite or
hematite, although these minerals occur here
(MinRec 34.1.36).
At Baveno, Novara, Italy, babingtonite is found in granite
pegmatite associated with microcline,
albite, quartz, epidote,
tourmaline, zeolites,
calcite and hematite
(AM 17.295-303).
At the Yakubi mine, Japan, babingtonite occurs at the contact of granodiorite with
slate and limestone, associated with
hedenbergite, garnet,
magnetite, sphalerite,
chalcopyrite, quartz and
calcite
(AM 17.295-303).
At the type locality, the Arendal Iron Mines, Arendal, Norway, babingtonite was found occupying solution cavities in large
microcline crystals. These cavities appear once to have been filled with
albite.
(AM 8.215-223). The host rock is a contact iron skarn, and associated minerals are
hornblende, garnet,
epidote, albite variety oligoclase,
albite and calcite
(AM 17.295-303).
At Athol, Massachusetts, USA, babingtonite occurs in veins in chlorite
gneiss associated with epidote,
prehnite and pyrite
(AM 17.295-303).
At Buckland, Massachusetts, USA, babingtonite occurs in veins in gneiss associated with
epidote, natrolite,
chabazite, quartz and
calcite
(AM 17.295-303).
At Deerfield, Massachusetts, USA, babingtonite occurs in veins in medium grained
mafic intrusive rocks associated with
prehnite, chlorite,
calcite and datolite
(AM 17.295-303).
At Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA, babingtonite occurs in veins in medium grained
mafic intrusive rocks associated with
prehnite, quartz,
calcite, datolite,
chabazite, natrolite and
pyrite
(AM 17.295-303).
At Somervile, Massachusetts, USA, babingtonite occurs in veins in medium grained
mafic intrusive rocks associated with
prehnite, quartz,
epidote, chlorite,
pyrite, chabazite and
calcite
(AM 17.295-303).
At Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA, babingtonite occurs in granite
pegmatite associated with microcline,
K-feldspar variety adularia, epidote,
biotite, hornblende,
quartz, heulandite and
pyrite
(AM 17.295-303).
At the Winchester Highlands, Massachusetts, USA, babingtonite occurs in veins in diorite and
granite pegmatite associated with
prehnite, epidote,
albite, quartz,
hornblende, zeolites and
calcite
(AM 17.295-303).
The Cliff Mine, Phoenix, Keweenaw county, Michigan, USA, is situated at the base of a roughly 70-metre
basalt cliff. A curious feature of the impressive thickness of the
greenstone flow here is that it contains zones of “pegmatoid”: areas
where
slow cooling in the core of the lava flow allowed for large feldspar crystals
exceeding 1 cm to grow. Such features are normally only observed in intrusive igneous rocks and are almost unheard of
in basalt flows.
The Cliff mine primarily exploited rich copper mineralisation in the Cliff
fissure (vein). Although mineralised with copper to some extent along its
entire length, the part of the vein just below the greenstone flow
carried the richest copper mineralisation by far. A significant amount of the
copper recovered at the Cliff mine came from amygdaloids in the tops of 13
basalt flows which were cut by the Cliff vein. The discovery and mining
of this vein proved that the veins were the source of the large masses of float
copper that were already well known, and proved that the
primary ore mineral in the district was native
copper, not sulphides, as had been suspected earlier.
Babingtonite is rare at the Cliff mine, and occurs as black crystals to 5 mm in open vugs in
prehnite. Babingtonite from the Cliff mine is typically highly lustrous
(MinRec 54.1.25-49).
At the Phoenix Mine, Phoenix, Keweenaw county, Michigan, USA, mineralisation occurs primarily in hydrothermal veins cutting
pre-existing Portage Lake basalts as well as in amygdules in the Ashbed
basalt flow, and the vast majority of collectible minerals occur in the
hydrothermal veins.
In 2005, some beautiful, lustrous black microcrystals of babingtonite to several millimeters were collected from the
dumps of the Babbitt mine, a small prospect on the Phoenix mine property
(MinRec 54.1.130).
At Paterson, New Jersey, USA, babingtonite occurs in cavities in amygdaloidal medium grained
mafic intrusive rocks, associated
with prehnite, quartz,
calcite, datolite and
zeolites
(AM 17.295-303).
At Loudoun county, Virginia, USA, babingtonite has been found in several localities.
At the Arlington quarry babingtonite has been found as tiny splendent,
black, wedge-shaped crystals in a small pocket of byssolite.
Occurrences of babingtonite have been reported from the Luck Bull Run Plant as 0.5-mm black, opaque
crystals on prehnite.
Clusters to 4 mm of lustrous black babingtonite crystals to about 2 mm on matrix have been collected in the
Luck Leesburg Plant. Babingtonite microcrystals on calcite also have
been found here
(R&M 98.2.124).
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