Hydroboracite

HYDROBORACITE

HISTORY, NAME, LOCALITIES: Hydroboracite was discovered in 1834.  Its type locality has been confused, and may be Lake Inder in Russia’s Caucacus Mountains or the Atyrau salt dome in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau Province.  Its name alludes to its composition as a HYDROus BORate.  Notable collecting localities are found in Argentina, Canada, Kazakhstan, China, Germany, Turkey, and the United States (California).

MINERALOGY, PROPERTIES, OCCURRENCE: Hydroboracite [basic hydrous calcium magnesium borate, CaMgB6O8(OH)6•3H2O], pronounced high-droh-BORE-uh-site, crystallizes in the monoclinic system as clusters of elongated, flattened prisms with sharp, wedge-shaped terminations; it also occurs in fibrous, acicular, and compact forms.  Hydroboracite is usually transparent and colorless or white, but occasionally impurities create pale yellow and tan hues.  It has a Mohs hardness of 2.0, a specific gravity of 2.2, an uneven fracture, perfect cleavage in three directions, and a vitreous-to-silky luster.  Hydroboracite occurs in evaporite-type, chemical-sedimentary rocks and forms from the repetitive evaporation of aqueous solutions of borates in closed, saline lakes.  It is usually associated with such other borate minerals as kernite, borax, colemanite, and ulexite.

METAPHYSICAL PROPERITES, LORE, USES: Hydroboracite is an uncommon mineral that has served as a minor ore of borates.  Because of its softness and rarity, it has no use in jewelry.  Hydroboracite has not been assigned any specific metaphysical properties.

COLLECTORS’ INFORMATION: Hydroboracite is collected for its rarity, unusual chemistry, and delicate, colorless, transparent crystals.