CHAMBERSITE: Texas (0.5)
Chambersite is an exceedingly rare mineral, as might be gathered from the locality information. Crystals are generally tiny and are recovered by skin diving to a depth of as much as 70 feet in brine. Cut stones are merely curiosities and very few exist.
Chambersite Value
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Chambersite Information
| Data | Value |
| Name | Chambersite |
| Crystallography | Orthorhombic. Crystals shaped like tetrahedra, up to 1 cm on edge. |
| Colors | Colorless, brownish, lilac, purple. |
| Luster | Vitreous. |
| Hardness | 7. |
| Density | 3.49 |
| Birefringence | 0.012 |
| Cleavage | None |
| Stone Sizes | Cut stones are not really transparent and are usually under 2 carats. Gems are generally triangular in shape and are cut by beveling and polishing off part of the tetrahedron of a crystal to save weight. Cut stones are, in a sense, truncated crystals with their surfaces polished. |
| Luminescence | None |
| Spectral | Not diagnostic |
| Formula | Mn3 B7O13CI. |
Optics: a = 1.732; β= 1.737; γ = 1.744.
Biaxial (+), 2V ~83°
Occurrence: Occurs in brines in storage well at Barber’s Hill salt dome, Chambers County, Texas.
Comments: Chambersite is an exceedingly rare mineral, as might be gathered from the locality information. Crystals are generally tiny and are recovered by skin diving to a depth of as much as 70 feet in brine. Cut stones are merely curiosities and very few exist.
Name: From the Texas locality
