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Cahnite

Named after Lazard Cahn, a mineral collector and dealer from Colorado, USA who first noted the mineral. Cahnite is a rare mineral that occurs at the type locality at Franklin, New Jersey, USA as a late stage mineral in pegmatites that cut the Franklin stratiform zinc deposit, and at an Italian locality with zeolites in leucitic lava rocks. Additional localities can be found in Namibia, Turkey, Russia, and Japan among only a couple others. Cahnite will fluoresce a pale yellow under both long- and short-wave ultraviolet light.
Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/cahnite.pdf
- Formula
- Ca2B(AsO4)(OH)4
- Crystal System
- Tetragonal
- Cleavage
- Perfect, None, None
- Luster
- Vitreous (Glassy)
- Color
- colorless, white
- Streak
- white
- Class
- Tetragonal - Disphenoidal
- Fracture
- Brittle
- Hardness
- 3
- WebMineral
- View Cahnite
- Mindat
- View Cahnite
Cahnite from Franklin, Sussex Co., New Jersey, United States

Scattered on the first piece are several single, clear crystals Cahnite to less than 0.75mm on mostly Hodgkinsonite matrix. The Cahnite on the second specimen are clear micro crystals to 3mm. There are several clusters on an unknown white crust.
Cahnite from Cava Vallerano, Laurentina Road, Rome, Latium, Italy

Translucent, yellow, micro crystals with triangular reflections of the Cahnite. The areas in which the Cahnite can be found are around 4x4mm in area and host dozens of micro crystals. The yellow color is a typical wine-like color for this locality.