Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0 [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Stolzite
Stolzite is a rare mineral; much rarer than wulfenite and usually occurs in very minute crystals. However, the Australian crystals may be up to 1 inch…
Stolzite Information
| Data | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Stolzite |
| Colors | Brown, yellowish brown, fawn beige, tan, yellow red, red, greenish. |
| Crystallography | Tetragonal; crystals tabular and thick, or dipyramidal. Crystal faces commonly striated. |
| Refractive Index | 2.19-2.27 |
| Luster | Resinous to subadamantine. |
| Hardness | 2.5-3 |
| Fracture | Conchoidal to uneven |
| Specific Gravity | 7.9-8.34 |
| Birefringence | 0.08 |
| Cleavage | Indistinct |
| Stone Sizes | Stolzite is a rare mineral (much rarer than wulfenite and usually occurs in very minute crystals. However, the Australian crystals may be up to 1 inch in size and tiny transparent areas have yielded very small cut stones of a bright orange color. |
| Luminescence | None reported. |
| Luminescence Present | No |
| Transparency | Transparent to translucent. |
| Absorption Spectrum | Not diagnostic. |
| Formula |
PbWO4. Dimorphous with Raspite. |
| Pleochroism |
Not reported. |
| Optics |
o = 2.27; e = 2.19. Uniaxial (-). |
| Optic Sign | Uniaxial - |
Optics: 0 I 2.27; e : 2.19.
Uniaxial (—).
Occurrence: A secondary mineral in the oxidation zone of tungsten-bearing ore deposits.
Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.
Brazil; England; Sardinia: Germany; Nigeria.
Utah; Arizona; Massachusetts; Pennsvlvania.
Name: After Dr. Stolz of Bohemia who first called attention to the mineral.
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