Hafnon is isomorphous with the mineral Zircon. It is almost identical to Zircon in physical properties, and occurs together with it. Thought to be Zircon, it is rarely identified separately when found. Because of this, Hafnon is hardly known to mineral collectors, and in reality it is much more prevalent than perceived. The name Hafnon is derived from a combination of the words hafnium and Zircon. Hide
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Halite, the natural form of salt, is a very common and well known mineral. It is foun... More
Halite, the natural form of salt, is a very common and well-known mineral. It is found in solid masses, and as a dissolved solution in the oceans and in salt lakes. The inland lakes that are rich in salt exist in arid regions, and may also be below sea level without an outlet. These lakes evaporate during dry seasons, causing a recession in the water level and an increase of salinity content. When this happens, salt forms on the evaporated shores of the lake. This also happens as the tributaries of salt lakes are diverted for human and agricultural use, causing the lake to dry up with additional salt forming at the evaporating shoreline. Many of these inland lakes have already dried up, leaving over enormous salt deposits which may be commercially mined. Halite also exists in non-arid regions, in underground deposits which can reach great depths. Underground Halite deposits are often mined by drilling wells into the salt layer, and bringing in hot water which quickly dissolves the salt into a brine. The brine is saturated with dissolved salt and is then pumped out. The brine evaporates and the remainder salt crystallizes and is harvested. Most commercially available Rock Salt is regrown from evaporated salt brine and is not the original natural crystals. Halite also forms from evaporation at salt springs where saline
water comes out of the ground in a salt deposit and precipitates as
rounded globular masses. In some underground salt deposits such as Texas and Louisiana, salt is pushed upwards by an underground force through soft ground and forms arched structures known as salt domes. These deposits are also important sources of salt mining operations and are very unique geological formations. Although the color range of Halite can be caused by impurities, the deep blue and violet colors are actually caused by defects within the crystal lattice, and the pink and peach colors of many dry lake Halite specimens are caused by bacteria from various algae. Artificial Halite can easily be grown as crystals by allowing a saturated saltwater solution to evaporate. Hopper-shaped cubes may result as the brine evaporates and the crystal grows. A few Halite specimens on the market are actually artificially grown crystals formed in this manner. Hide
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Hastingsite is a member of the extended Hornblende group. There are several variation... More
Hastingsite is a member of the extended Hornblende group. There are
several variations of Hastingsite with different elemental
substitutions. Some of these are recognized as individual minerals,
thereby making Hastingsite a mineral group, with Hastingsite the
dominating member. Hastingsite is named after Hastings Co. in Ontario, which is the type locality for this mineral. Hide
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div Hauyne forms a solid solution series with Lazurite , essentially sharing the same... More
Hauyne forms a solid solution series with Lazurite, essentially sharing the same chemical formula, but with a variation of sulfide over sulfate. Hauyne has the sulfate radical dominating, whereas Lazurite has the sulfide element dominating. Much of the known Lazurite specimens are actually sulfate-dominating, which means they are in fact Hauyne and not Lazurite. This is especially true at the most famous locality for Lazurite at Sar-e-Sang in the Kokcha Valley of Afghanistan, where the material labelled as Lazurite has been determined to really be Hauyne. Despite this, the mineral community still generally accepts this material as Lazurite notwithstanding the scientific inaccuracy. It is generally accepted to refer to the opaque, non- fluorescent, ultramarine-blue material as Lazurite, whereas Hauyne describes the transparent to translucent material.
Hauyne was named in 1807 in honor of French mineralogist and crystallographer Abbé Rene Just Haüy (1743-1822), curator of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris.
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Hedenbergite forms a series with Diopside , the magnesium equivalent of Hedenbergite,... More
Hedenbergite forms a series with Diopside, the magnesium equivalent of Hedenbergite, and may be partially replaced by it. Diopside and Hedenbergite can even occur together in a single crystal, with a core of Hedenbergite and outer zone of Diopside. Hedenbergite is often confused and misidentified as both Diopside and Augite. Hide
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Hematite is one of the most common minerals. The color of most red and brown rock, su... More
Hematite is one of the most common minerals. The color of most red and brown rock, such as sandstone, is caused by small amounts of Hematite. It is also be responsible for the red color of many minerals. Non-crystalline forms of Hematite may be transformations of the mineral Limonite that lost water, possibly due to heat. Hide
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div Hemimorphite is a unique mineral, with different crystal termination s on each si... More
Hemimorphite is a unique mineral, with different crystal terminations on each side of a single crystal. This habit is responsible for Hemimorphite's name, from the Greek hemi, meaning "half" and morph, meaning shape. Although this habit is very common among Hemimorphite crystals, its visibility is usually obscured by one end of a crystal being attached to the matrix.
Prior to 1803, Hemimorphite and Smithsonite were thought to be the same mineral, called Calamine. In 1803, James Smithson, a British mineralogist, discovered that these were two distinct zinc mineral species that closely resembled each other.
Hemimorphite is a mineral of two main distinct patterns: A well-crystallized form, and a microcrystalline globular form. These two types of Hemimorphite appear entirely different from each other, and it surprising that they are of the same mineral.
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Heulandite is one of the more common zeolite minerals. It has a very distinctive crys... More
Heulandite is one of the more common zeolite minerals. It has a very distinctive crystal form and has a noticeable pearly luster on cleavage surfaces. Since its original classification, Heulandite was always regarded as a single mineral species with a variable elemental makeup. In 1997,
the Zeolite Subcommittee of the IMA divided this mineral into individual sub-species, thereby regarding Heulandite as a series of four members. The series is defined by the presence of several variable elements in the following order: calcium, sodium, potassium, strontium, and barium. Calcium-dominating Heulandite is called Heulandite-Ca, and is by far the most prevalent form of this series. Sodium-dominating Heulandite is the next most common, and is known as Heulandite-Na, followed by potassium-dominating Heulandite known as Heulandite-K. Strontium-dominating Heulandite is known as Heulandite-Sr, and is very uncommon. A new barium-dominating Heulandite was classified in 2002, and is known as Heulandite-Ba. Almost all Heulandite specimens in collections are Heulandite-Ca. A distinction among the different Heulandite types is rarely made, and the members are generally just termed Heulandite without further breakdown. Heulandite is named after English mineral dealer Henry Heuland (1778-1856), who would frequent trips to Iceland collecting Heulandite and other zeolites.
Heulandite shares its chemical structure with the closely related mineral Clinoptilolite. Clinoptilolite is a rare mineral very similar to Heulandite with a higher potassium and silicon ratio. Although regarded by the IMA as a distinct mineral species, many consider Clinoptilolite to be a variety of Heulandite. Hide
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Hornblende is a group name used to describe Ferro hornblende and Magnesio hornblende ... More
Hornblende is a group name used to describe Ferro-hornblende and Magnesio-hornblende, but the term is generally more inclusive for all calcium aluminum amphiboles. (Hornblende is frequently also used to describe any dark, opaque amphibole mineral without individual analysis.) The individual Hornblende minerals appear very similar and can be
virtually indistinguishable without complex analysis, and are often just grouped under a Hornblende label without further distinguishing. Hornblende is major constituent of the earth and is extremely common. It forms in a host of different mineral environments, and is often a major constituent of the rock type it forms in. Hornblende is a rock-forming mineral, and it even constitutes its own rock type known as Horneblendite, a dark rock formed mostly from Hornblende.
Hornblende is named after the German term horn, referring to its color, and blenden, meaning "deceiver", alluding to its habit of being confused with ore metals due to its dark color and luster. Its typical dark color and
opacity are usually caused by iron in its structure. Hide
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Howlite is most often available to collectors in tumbled and polished form as an inex... More
Howlite is most often available to collectors in tumbled and polished form as an inexpensive
stone. Its white color is easily dyed, and this can be done to resemble Turquoise when dyed a greenish-blue color. Howlite is often used as a cheap substitute
for Turquoise, and some dishonest dealers label dyed Howlite as
Turquoise without informing their sellers about this. Howlite is named for its discoverer, Henry How, a Canadian geologist from Nova Scotia. Hide
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Huebnerite is the manganese rich end member of the Wolframite series . It is not alwa... More
Huebnerite is the manganese-rich end member of the Wolframite series. It is not always distinguished individually and is sometimes just classified as Wolframite. An increase of iron in its structure tends to give it a more black color, decrease transparency, and increase its density. Huebnerite is named after German metalurgist and mining engineer Adolf Hübner. Hide
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div Humite is the namesake mineral of the humite group . The name can be used to desc... More
Humite is the namesake mineral of the humite group. The name can be used to describe the humite group, or the individual member Humite. Humite is very similar structurally to Chondrodite and Clinohumite, but forms in a different chemical structure than those minerals. Humite was named in 1813 in honor of Sir Abraham Hume (1749-1838), English connoisseur and collector.
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Hydrozincite is usually an accessory mineral, forming as masses and crusts on top of ... More
Hydrozincite is usually an accessory mineral, forming as masses and crusts on top of other minerals. Aside from fluorescent collectors, this mineral is generally uninteresting to most collectors. However, several localities have produced aesthetic forms of Hydrozincite in groupings of small spiked crystals as ball-shaped aggregates that can be aesthetic.
Hydrozincite is an alteration product of Smithsonite, Sphalerite, or Hemimorphite, and may fully or partially replace or crust over these minerals. It was named in 1853 by German mineralogist Gustav Adolph Kenngott (1818 – 1897) for its composition of water (hydro) and zinc. Hydrozincite is unrelated to the mineral Zincite.
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