Cavansite: a Useless Mineral?

     Cavansite is a rare mineral that is found in only a few places on the Earth. Cavansite is usually found in vesicles (gas bubbles) or cracks in basalt and andesite. Cavansite is usually found as tiny, orthorhombic, blue crystals. So far there have been no examples found in which cavansite that displays any color other than blue, but cavansite does exhibit different shades of blue varying from greenish blue to deep blue and a color that is known as electric blue. Cavansite crystals are very small and are usually found as clusters or aggregations. These clusters can be radiating spheres, tufts, or rosettes, which are shaped like roses. Cavansite is named for the three most prominent elements that make up its chemical formula: CAlcium, VANadium, and SIlicon.
Like many discoveries, cavansite was discovered by amateur collectors. In the fall of the year 1960 a couple was driving through Owyhee State Park in Oregon. They caught sight of a blue mineral in a rock face that had been exposed by a recent road cut. They and another couple collected some samples of the mineral and sent it to Dr. Paul Desautels of the Smithsonian National Museum who said that their discovery was probably a new, undiscovered, mineral. Three years later a man named John Cowels found some the same mineral and sent it to Dr. Lloyd Staples to have it identified. Dr. Staples determined it to be a new mineral. Next time you are tempted to think that you cannot make a contribution to science just because you are not a professional remember this story!
     The last mineral that I wrote about was barite, which is used for a great deal of things. Cavansite contrasts barite fairly well because it has no technological uses. Cavansite crystals are also too small to use as jewelry so the only market in which cavansite sells is the collector’s market. Perhaps the Lord created cavansite simply to add some artwork to the Earth’s rocky infrastructure.
     There is only one source throughout the world in which cavansite can be mined in large enough quantities for collectors and that is in India. My specimen was collected in the vicinity of the Wagholi village in India. It is also found in very small amounts in Oregon, Brazil, and New Zealand’s North Island.
     If there is one thing that this blog has taught us it is that just because something may not be prestigious does not mean that it is useless. Cavansite has small crystals, is too rare for any technological use, and is not used to make jewelry, yet it is certainly not useless. Cavansite is prized by collectors and it is a beautiful mineral. This article can also teach us that an amateur’s discovery may be an important one too!