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!
Sillimanite, collected in a quartz vein through schist, is altered, in a few samples, to a very soft, greasy-feeling, white or gray material. X-ray study indicates a mixture of fine-grained paragonite and subsidiary pyrophyllite. A fingernail easily scratches it.
Quality for species:
Poor for species, only of interest for locality collectors. (#)