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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Halite

This piece of halite (crystallized sodium chloride) has in my collection for nearly 8 years.

I have been keeping it in a air tight container as I feel that halite tends to be very hydroscopic... the humidity in the air would reduce it to a pool of salt in no time...



The mineral is typically colorless to yellow, but may also be light blue, dark blue, and pink depending on the amount and type of impurities. It commonly occurs with other evaporite deposit minerals such as several of the sulfates, halides and borates.

Unusual, purple, fibrous vein filling halite is found in France and a few other localities. Halite crystals termed hopper crystals appear to be "skeletons" of the typical cubes, with the edges present and stairstep depressions on, or rather in, each crystal face. In a rapidly crystallizing environment the edges of the cubes simply grow faster than the centers. Halite crystals form very quickly in some rapidly evaporating lakes resulting in modern artefacts with a coating or encrustation of halite crystals. Halite flowers are rare stalactites of curling fibers of halite that are found in certain arid caves of Australia's Nullarbor Plain. Halite stalactites and encrustations are also reported in the Quincy native copper mine of Hancock, Michigan.

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