6505 - Aegirine

At-A-Glance

Country of Origin

NJ
United States

Contributors

Edward Sampson

Photos

Essential Information

Specimen ID

6505

Mineral Name

Aegirine

Mineral Variety

Jeffersonite

Chemical Formula

NaFe+++Si2O6

Subcollection

Franklin and Sterling Hill Suite
Specimen Number
F132

13791

The mineral here labeled jeffersonite is probably aegirine. Labeled pegmatite, but is not igneous pegmatite. “Jeffersonite,” a term no longer used (except locally among collectors), variously refers to augite, diopside, and aegirine. X-ray and chemical methods are commonly needed for species certainty except by comparison to well-documented assemblages, but the preponderance of dark-brown clinopyroxene at Franklin is aegirine. Medium-brown specimens are often augite, and white to pale brown ones are generally diopside.

Geographic Origin

Locality Nickname

Franklin, New Jersey

Locality Lat/Long

41.1220409, -74.5804378

Mining District

Franklin Mining District

Mine Name

Franklin Mine