During Easter 1958, Dr. Maxwell Gage, and Brian Mason hiked into the upper Perth River valley, 12 kilometres north of the Franz Josef Glacier, with romantic geographic names like the Garden of Eden Ice Field, Mount Sceptre, and The Great Unknown mountain peak. They discovered the first case of axinite in New Zealand to that point.

The axinite was collected from an un-named stream entering the southern side of the Perth River, about one mile downstream from the Perth River/Scone Creek confluence.

The area contains sheared greywacke, with numerous lenses and veins of milky white quartz, no more than 2 inches thick each. A few of the veins contain blue-green pumpellyite. There was a small amount of a pale pink material, later identified in the laboratory as axinite, associated with pale grey clinozoisite. The axinite occurs as irregular grains and patches up to 5 mms across in the quartz.

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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Mineral List

ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)

ⓘ Clinozoisite

ⓘ 'Pumpellyite Subgroup'

ⓘ Quartz

3 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

ⓘ Greywacke

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)

Formula: Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH

References:

Mason, B. (1959) Axinite from the Perth River, Westland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 2 (1), 137-140.

Railton, G. T., Watters, W. A. (1990) Minerals of New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin 104. New Zealand Geological Survey

ⓘ Clinozoisite

Formula: (CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si₂O₇][SiO₄](OH)

References:

Mason, B. (1959) Axinite from the Perth River, Westland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 2 (1), 137-140.

ⓘ 'Pumpellyite Subgroup'

Formula: Ca₂XAl₂[Si₂O₆(OH)][SiO₄](OH)₂A

References:

Mason, B. (1959) Axinite from the Perth River, Westland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 2 (1), 137-140.

ⓘ Quartz

Formula: SiO₂

References:

Mason, B. (1959) Axinite from the Perth River, Westland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 2 (1), 137-140.

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘ	Quartz	4.DA.05	SiO₂
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘ	Axinite-(Fe)	9.BD.20	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH
ⓘ	Clinozoisite	9.BG.05a	(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si₂O₇][SiO₄](OH)
Unclassified
ⓘ	'Pumpellyite Subgroup'	-	Ca₂XAl₂[Si₂O₆(OH)][SiO₄](OH)₂A

List of minerals for each chemical element

H	Hydrogen
H	ⓘ Clinozoisite	(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si₂O₇][SiO₄](OH)
H	ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH
H	ⓘ Pumpellyite Subgroup	Ca₂XAl₂[Si₂O₆(OH)][SiO₄](OH)₂A
B	Boron
B	ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH
O	Oxygen
O	ⓘ Clinozoisite	(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si₂O₇][SiO₄](OH)
O	ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH
O	ⓘ Pumpellyite Subgroup	Ca₂XAl₂[Si₂O₆(OH)][SiO₄](OH)₂A
O	ⓘ Quartz	SiO₂
Al	Aluminium
Al	ⓘ Clinozoisite	(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si₂O₇][SiO₄](OH)
Al	ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH
Al	ⓘ Pumpellyite Subgroup	Ca₂XAl₂[Si₂O₆(OH)][SiO₄](OH)₂A
Si	Silicon
Si	ⓘ Clinozoisite	(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si₂O₇][SiO₄](OH)
Si	ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH
Si	ⓘ Pumpellyite Subgroup	Ca₂XAl₂[Si₂O₆(OH)][SiO₄](OH)₂A
Si	ⓘ Quartz	SiO₂
Ca	Calcium
Ca	ⓘ Clinozoisite	(CaCa)(AlAlAl)O[Si₂O₇][SiO₄](OH)
Ca	ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH
Ca	ⓘ Pumpellyite Subgroup	Ca₂XAl₂[Si₂O₆(OH)][SiO₄](OH)₂A
Fe	Iron
Fe	ⓘ Axinite-(Fe)	Ca₂Fe²⁺Al₂BSi₄O₁₅OH

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

Australian Plate

Haast SchistAccretionary Complex

New Zealand

South IslandIsland
Southern AlpsMountain Range

Pacific PlateTectonic Plate

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Mason, B. (1959) Axinite from the Perth River, Westland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 2 (1), 137-140.

Railton, G. T., Watters, W. A. (1990) Minerals of New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin 104. New Zealand Geological Survey

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