Search Mineralpedia – A Mineral Photo Database and Identification Guide

Named for the Greek word pektos, meaning “compact,” in reference to its resistance to being crushed. Pectolite is a widespread mineral with many localities including in Italy, Germany, Scotland, Russia, the United States, Canada, India, Morocco, and South Africa, to name just a few. Pectolite occurs in nepheline syenite, as a hydrothermal mineral in basalts and diabases, in serpentinites, peridotites and calcium-rich rocks. Pectolite can be triboluminescent, produces light when broken.

Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/pectolite.pdf

Named in honor of Professor Samuel Lewis Penfield, a mineralogist and mineral chemist at Yale University in Connecticut, USA. Penfieldite is a rare mineral found in Greece, Italy, and Chile among a couple other localities and forms as “an alteration product of lead-bearing slag immersed in seawater” and in oxidized lead deposits of hydrothermal origin. Penfieldite is soluble in water and leaves behind a yellow-white lead-oxychloride residue.

Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/penfieldite.pdf

Named after the Lapp words used to describe its usual appearance: penk, meaning “curly,” and vilkis, meaning “white.” Penkvilkisite can be found only in the Jubilee pegmatite in the Lovozero massif in the Kola Peninsula, Russia, and at Mont Saint-Hilaire in Quebec, Canada. At the type locality in the Jubilee pegmatite, Penkvilksite occurs in the natrolite zone of the pegmatite, and at Mont Saint-Hilaire it occurs in a pegmatite vein cutting a marble xenolith.

Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/penkvilksite.pdf

Name is actually a misnomer for the composition which was originally described as having five (penta) water molecules per each formula unit. A rare mineral found only in Russia, Serbia, Japan, and possibly Kazakhstan. Pentahydoborite occurs as a mineral in boron bearing iron ore skarn and in volcanogenic sedimentary borate deposits. Pentahudroborite will fluoresce a purple-violet color under long-wave ultraviolet light.

Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/pentahydroborite.pdf