Loudounite
1983
Geologists discover and name a new mineral called Loudounite. Found within the Goose Creek quarry of Loudoun County, Virginia, this mineral's composition gives the color a range from clear to light and deep green.
Source: MinDat.org
Hardness: 5
Specific Gravity: 2.48
Place of Conservation of Type Material:
National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian), Washington, D.C.
Geological Setting of Type Material: Triassic diabase
Geology Resources
1. Loudounite from New Goose Creek Quarry, Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, USA
2. Dunn, P.J., Newbury, D. (1983) Loudounite, a new zirconium silicate from Virginia. The Canadian Mineralogist: 21: 37-40.
3. https://webmineral.com/data/Loudounite.shtml
NaCa5Zr4Si16O40(OH)11 · 8H2O
I find I have a very special connection to this stone.
Discovered in 1983.
Loudounite. Unite. One Loudoun.
Found within the Goose Creek quarry, right along where Yardley and others worked tirelessly to help enslaved people escape to freedom.
Green, the color of the Heart, Evergreen. And the name Yardley gave his estate.
This land is ancient beyond our measure, even the teeniest sliver of rock whispers stories too faint for words and language.
General Appearance of Type Material:
Green to colorless spherules, typically teeny tiny at 0.05 mm seen only with a microscope. Fibrous yet radial habits can give the samples a spiky yet roundy bacteria-like quality.
Outside weblink images
Killer image of how these daggers from Geology Is The Way
can I get a Hey Hey
