Vote for your favorite mineral in #MinCup26! - Sphalerite vs. Anorthite
Both zinc ore Sphalerite and calcium plagioclase feldspar Anorthite have perfect cleavage that will split cleanly if you hit them with a hammer, but only one can claim a larger split of your votes!
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Whispering Woods Lane, Sterling Hill, Sparta, Sussex County, New Jersey, USAi
Regional Level Types
Whispering Woods LaneRoad
Sterling HillHill
SpartaTownship
Sussex CountyCounty
New JerseyState
USACountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
41° 5' 11'' North , 74° 36' 26'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Mindat Locality ID:
9156
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:9156:8
GUID (UUID V4):
0


This relatively new locality, at the intersection of Passaic Street and the new housing development road, Whispering Woods Lane, is a roadcut to establish a line-of-sight safety zone at the new intersection. It lies just inside Sparta Township but on the famous Sterling Hill. The excavation, now covered over by landscaping, is in Precambrian Franklin marble and yielded some of the finest fluorescent norbergite and associated species ever seen. This locality is within the Franklin Mining District.

Important notice: The famous part of Sterling Hill with zinc ores was originally in Sparta. In 1914, part of Sparta, containing both the village of Ogdensburg and a small part of Sterling Hill where the zinc mines were located, became the town of Ogdensburg. A small part of Sparta with outcrop occurrences of Franklin Marble, such as Whispering Woods Lane, are still in the Franklin Mining District, however. Other portions of the Franklin Marble, such as those from the Lime Crest Quarry, also in Sparta, are not part of the Franklin Mining District, as strictly defined. By conspicuously changing the Mindat hierarchy to show Sterling Hill in Sparta there would probably result in many "Sterling Hill" minerals and photos from the famous zinc ore bodies to be erroneously posted in Sterling Hill, Sparta. None of the zinc ore minerals nor any of the famous fluorescent zinc minerals such as willemite have been found within the currently defined borders of Sparta township.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Mineral List


7 valid minerals.

Detailed Mineral List:

Calcite
Formula: CaCO3
Diopside
Formula: CaMgSi2O6
Description: Large blebs of light yellow norbergite with white diopside and divergent sprays of prismatic, light gray tremolite crystals in graphitic Franklin marble matrix.
Fluorophlogopite
Formula: KMg3(Si3Al)O10F2
Graphite
Formula: C
Description: Large blebs of light yellow norbergite with white diopside and divergent sprays of prismatic, light gray tremolite crystals in graphitic Franklin marble matrix.
Norbergite
Formula: Mg3(SiO4)F2
Description: Large blebs of light yellow norbergite with white diopside and divergent sprays of prismatic, light gray tremolite crystals in graphitic Franklin marble matrix.
Pyrrhotite
Formula: Fe1-xS
Tremolite
Formula: ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Description: Large blebs of light yellow norbergite with white diopside and divergent sprays of prismatic, light gray tremolite crystals in graphitic Franklin marble matrix.

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
Graphite1.CB.05aC
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
Pyrrhotite2.CC.10Fe1-xS
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
Calcite5.AB.05CaCO3
Group 9 - Silicates
Norbergite9.AF.40Mg3(SiO4)F2
Diopside9.DA.15CaMgSi2O6
Tremolite9.DE.10◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Fluorophlogopite9.EC.20KMg3(Si3Al)O10F2

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
H Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
CCarbon
C CalciteCaCO3
C GraphiteC
OOxygen
O CalciteCaCO3
O DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
O NorbergiteMg3(SiO4)F2
O Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
O FluorophlogopiteKMg3(Si3Al)O10F2
FFluorine
F NorbergiteMg3(SiO4)F2
F FluorophlogopiteKMg3(Si3Al)O10F2
MgMagnesium
Mg DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Mg NorbergiteMg3(SiO4)F2
Mg Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Mg FluorophlogopiteKMg3(Si3Al)O10F2
AlAluminium
Al FluorophlogopiteKMg3(Si3Al)O10F2
SiSilicon
Si DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Si NorbergiteMg3(SiO4)F2
Si Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Si FluorophlogopiteKMg3(Si3Al)O10F2
SSulfur
S PyrrhotiteFe1-xS
KPotassium
K FluorophlogopiteKMg3(Si3Al)O10F2
CaCalcium
Ca CalciteCaCO3
Ca DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Ca Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
FeIron
Fe PyrrhotiteFe1-xS

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
USA

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