| Serandite is the manganese analog of pectolite, and occurs in various
shades of pink to orange. It occurs as large well formed triclinic crystals.
It is of great interest to collectors because of its beauty, but has no
industrial value. The Demix Quarry at Mont St. Hilaire was opened in 1961
to mine nepheline syenite for use as an aggregate in concrete. In 1962,
Frank Melanson, a salesman for a paper products company, discovered beautiful
but unfamiliar minerals in the quarry. A number were identified including
catapleiite, monteregianite, acmite, synchysite, narsarsukite, and serandite.
In 1973, Rolland Bouhelier dug into a pipe-like vug and discovered an incredible
array of serandite crystals each studded with snow-white analcime crystals.
This specimen in the UCSB Geology Collection is one of the best-known miniature
specimens (five by three centimeters). |
