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Probertite Crystal Mineral Specimen

$400.00 $379.99

Probertite crystallizes as large colorless prismatic crystals. It is a borate mineral that occurs in sedimentary evaporite deposits that underlie playas in arid regions.

Size: 5″ x 3″ x 1″

Locality: Boron Open Pit Mine, Kramer Borate deposit, Boron, Kerns County California, USA

 

SKU: PRO6. Tags: , .

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Probertite Crystal Mineral Specimen

PROBERTITE

HISTORY, NAME, LOCALITIES: Mixed borate minerals were used as early 1600 B.C. in Babylonia as bonding fluxes for jewelry making.  Probertite was discovered in California and recognized as a new mineral species in 1927 by University of California mineralogist Frank H. Probert and named in his honor.  Collecting localities are found in Turkey, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, and the United States (California, Oklahoma).

 

MINERALOGY, PROPERTIES, OCCURRENCE: Probertite [basic hydrous sodium calcium borate, NaCaB5O7(OH)4·3H2O], pronounced PRO-bert-ite, crystallizes in the monoclinic system as colorless-to-pale-gray, flattened, acicular crystals aggregated into rosettes or compact radial masses.  Individual crystals are rare.  It has a Mohs hardness of 3.5, perfect cleavage in one direction, vitreous luster, and a specific gravity of 2.14.  Probertite is an uncommon, low-temperature mineral that occurs in association with kernite, borax, and other borate minerals in evaporite-sedimentary layers that underlie playas in arid regions.

 

METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES, LORE, USES: No metaphysical properties are currently assigned to probertite.  As a borate ore, probertite is mined at Boron, California, from the world’s largest known borate-mineral deposit.  Borate compounds are used to manufacture a wide variety of products from glass, fiber-optic cable, and fiberglass to soaps, ceramics, and paints.

 

COLLECTORS’ PROPERTIES: Mineral collectors value probertite specimens for their rarity and unusual, radiating arrangements of acicular crystals.

SKU: PRO6 Tags: , .

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