AUSTINITE



Austinite is a calcium zinc arsenate hydroxide mineral related to adelite. Austinite was originally found by Fred Parker and reported from Sterling Hill by Dunn (1979c); it was subsequently found on specimens from Franklin.
Austinite occurs in two habits: as 0.3 mm aggregates of weak-yellow crystals at Franklin and as 0.2 mm, medium-brown spherules and continuous encrustations at Sterling Hill. The spherules have a radial internal texture and break with a splintery surface. The density is 4.1 g/cm3, and the index of refraction parallel to the fiber axis is 1.755. X-ray and chemical methods are best for verification.
Austinite occurs at Franklin associated with clinochlore and with secondary franklinite and willemite, both in superb crystals. Austinite also occurs rarely at Sterling Hill, as spherules on calcite, associated with kraisslite and hemimorphite. (Dunn, 1995)

 Location Found: Franklin and Ogdensburg
     
 
 Year Discovered: 1935
     
 Formula: CaZn(AsO4)(OH)
 Essential Elements: Arsenic, Calcium, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Zinc
 All Elements in Formula: Arsenic, Calcium, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Zinc
     
 IMA Status: Valid - first described prior to 1959 (pre-IMA) - "Grandfathered"
     
     
 To find out more about this mineral at minDat's website, follow this link   Austinite

     
 References:
Dunn, Pete J. (1995). Franklin and Sterling Hill New Jersey: the world's most magnificent mineral deposits. Franklin, NJ.: The Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society. p.658
The Picking Table References
 PT Issue and PageDescription / Comment
View IssueV. 20, No. 2 - September 1979, pg. 4Contributions to the Mineralogy of Franklin and Sterling Hill New Jersey, Austinite (small article)
     
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