Spodumene from
Strickland Quarry, Strickland pegmatite, Collins Hill, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA
| Locality type: | Quarry | |
| Classification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Species: | Spodumene | |
| Formula: | LiAlSi2O6 | |
| Comments: | Tons of fragmented crystals were in the dumps, many well terminated. Most crystals etched on the exterior to a "woody" appearance, some crystals altered to pinite. The interior of good crystals is white to lavender and translucent with some rare gem material. Schooner (1958) says that "Rather large crystals, a yard long and a foot wide, were abundant when the locality was active. During the last period of operation, in l954, a great deal of the mineral was uncovered in the lower east wall of the main pit. Part of a wedge-shaped vein of lithium minerals was composed of virtually solid white spodumene. Green and lavender material was also present there, associated with pollucite, amblygonite, lepidolite, and cleavelandite. Most of the green and some of the pink has a good orange fluorescence and a vivid and long sustained orange phosphorescence under short-wave ultra-violet light. Cleavages are still found in the old dumps. Several fine specimens of translucent to semi-transparent light purple kunzite have been secured in recent years." | |
| Habit: | elongated prisms | |
| Colour: | exterior tan to pale grey, interior white to lavender | |
| Luminescent properties: | lavender-pink in SW, orange-pink in LW | |
| Quality for species: | Good crystals or rich for species - important (!) | |
| Abundance at site: | Very common | |
| Confirmation | ||
| Validity: | Believed Valid | |
| Associated Minerals Based on Photo Data: | ||
| Pinite | 6 | |
| Quartz | 6 | |
| Albite | 5 | |
| - var Cleavelandite | 5 | |
| Uraninite | 3 | |
| Wodginite | 3 | |
| Montebrasite | 2 | |
| Zinnwaldite | 1 | |
| Cookeite | 1 | |
| Data | ||
| Mineral Data: | Click here to view Spodumene data | |
| Locality Data: | Click here to view Strickland Quarry, Strickland pegmatite, Collins Hill, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA | |
| Photo Gallery | View Gallery (23 photos) | |
| Data Identifiers | ||
| Mindat Occurrence Record ID: | 34918 | |
| Long-form Identifier: | 1:3:34918:5 | |
| GUID (UUID V4): | 0 | |
| Nearest other occurrences of Spodumene | ||
| 0.1km (0.1 miles) | ⓘSchoonmaker Mine, Strickland pegmatite, Collins Hill, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA | |
| 3.0km (1.8 miles) | ⓘWalden Gem Quarry, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA | |
| 4.3km (2.7 miles) | ⓘWhite Rocks Quarry (Consolidated Quarry), White Rock Mining District, Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA | |
| 13.0km (8.1 miles) | ⓘGillette Quarry (J-J Mine; Haddam Neck Quarry), Haddam Neck, Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA | |
| 68.7km (42.7 miles) | ⓘU. S. Route 7 Expressway (Danbury line to Iron Works District), Brookfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA | |
| 71.5km (44.4 miles) | ⓘBlandford mica mines, Blandford, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA | |
| 79.3km (49.3 miles) | ⓘFillow Quarry, Branchville, Redding, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA | |
| 83.9km (52.2 miles) | ⓘCasey Quarry (Ridgefield pegmatite), Ridgefield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA | |
| 95.4km (59.3 miles) | ⓘClark Ledge pegmatite locality, Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA | |
| 95.9km (59.6 miles) | ⓘMacomber Ledge pegmatite locality, Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA | |
| References | ||
Cameron, Eugene N., Larrabee, David M., McNair, Andrew H., Page, James J., Stewart, Glen W., Shainin, Vincent E. (1954) Pegmatite Investigations, 1942-45, in New England. Geological Survey Professional Paper 255. US Geological Survey doi:10.3133/pp255 | ||
Strickland Quarry, Strickland pegmatite, Collins Hill, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA