How do I identify Bultfonteinite?

Bultfonteinite can be identified by its hardness of 4.5 on the Mohs scale, colourless color. Look for these key characteristics when examining specimens.

What color is Bultfonteinite?

Bultfonteinite typically appears in colourless, pink. Color can vary depending on impurities and formation conditions.

How hard is Bultfonteinite?

Bultfonteinite has a hardness of 4.5 on the Mohs scale. This gives it moderate hardness.

Bultfonteinite

A variety of Minerals

What is Bultfonteinite?

Bultfonteinite is transparent and pale pink to colorless. The mineral occurs as radiating prismatic acicular crystals and radial spherules up to 2 cm (0.79 in).

Bultfonteinite Market Value Calculator

Estimate the market value of Bultfonteinite using size, quality, and finish. This preview calculator is for quick context and is not a formal appraisal.

Bultfonteinite Localities Map

See where Bultfonteinite is found with a localities map, collecting zones, and geology context. Generate a sample map preview below.

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North ZoneCentral RidgeSouth Basin

Key Characteristics

Formation of Bultfonteinite

Bultfonteinite has been found in Australia, Botswana, Canada, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. The mineral was first located outside South Africa in the US State of California in 1955. Bultfonteinite has been found in association with afwillite, apophyllite, calcite, natrolite, oyelite, scawtite, and xonotlite. At the type locality, the mineral occurred in a large structure of dolerite and shale fragments in a kimberlite pipe. In Crestmore, California, bultfonteinite formed in the contact zone of thermally metamorphosed limestone.

Composition of Bultfonteinite

The crystal structure of bultfonteinite consists of strips of [Ca4Si2O4], that run along the 5.67 Å c-axis, held together by Ca–O–Ca, Ca–F–Ca, Ca–H2O–Ca, and Ca–O–Si bonds. Silicon atoms occur in isolated tetrahedra and the calcium atoms have seven-fold coordination, derived from a triangular prism with a seventh atom present on one of the square faces.