Garronite-Na

garronite-Na

natrolite

gmelinite

gonnardite

Images

Formula: Na6(Al6Si10O32).8.5H2O
Tectosilicate (framework silicate), zeolite group, forms a series with garronite-Ca, previously known as garronite
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 2.19 measured, 2.071 calculated
Hardness: 4
Streak: White
Colour: Pale yellow to white
Environments

Plutonic igneous rocks
Hydrothermal environments
Basalt cavities

Garronite-Na is a relatively new mineral, approved in 2015.

Localities

At the type locality, the Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Quebec, Canada, garronite-Na occurs in vugs in sodalite syenite as botryoidal masses up to 1.5 mm in size. Associated minerals include aegirine, natrolite, gmelinite and gonnardite (CM 54.1549-1562).

At Shiratobana, Hirado Island, Hirado City, Nagasaki, Japan, silica-rich garronite-Na was found in a cavity with a diameter of about 2 mm in altered basaltic rock. Hirado Island is composed mainly of volcanic andesite and basalt lava accompanied by pyroclastic rocks. More than 10 species of zeolite (chabazite, epistilbite, harmotome, phillipsite, stellerite, stilbite, barrerite, thomsonite, scolecite, mordenite, dachiardite and ferrierite) have been described as occurring in altered volcanic rocks from the Island. The zeolite minerals occur as hydrothermal minerals in the druses and veins of the basaltic and andesitic rocks. The garronite-Na from Shiratobana fills the central part of the cavity and is associated with radial aggregates of epistilbite, which cover the inside of the cavity, suggesting that the garronite-Na crystallised after the formation of the epistilbite (CM.60.1.91-99).

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