Faustite
Faustite is the green zinc analogue of Turquoise, named 1953 in honor of George Tobias
Faust (1908-1985) of the United States Geological Survey. It was originally found in
Copper King Mine (Maggie Creek, Eureka Co., Nevada, USA) and has later only shown
up in a few other deposits. Local field collectors claim the Copper King Mine is
depleted, and Faustite remains a highly desirable species for collectors of rare species.
It is found as green veins and spots in Palaeozoic chert with interbedded shale and
limestone. Faustite is almost invariably mixed with Montmorillonite clay from the type
locality.
Specimen Handling
Faustite is for all practical purposes stable in a normal household environment. It is not
harmed by light, changes in temperature in the normal comfort range, or known to
decompose. Faustite specimens can be brittle and should be handled with care like any
other mineral specimen. Faustite is not appreciably soluble in water, but the associated
Montmorillonite may cause it to be brittle or susceptible to water.
Bibliography
Anthony, John Williams, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh & Monte C.
Nichols. 2000. Handbook of mineralogy, vol. 4
Blackburn, William H. & William H. Dennen. 1997. Encyclopedia of mineral
names. Canadian Mineralogist, special publication 1.
Erd, Richard C., Margaret D. Foster & Paul D. Proctor. 1953. Faustite, a new
mineral, the zinc analogue of Turquois. American Mineralogist, 38(11-12), 964-
972
Gaines, Richard W., H. Catherine W. Skinner, Eugene E. Foord, Brian Mason,
Abraham Rosenzweig & Vandall T. King. 1997. Dana's new mineralogy: the
system of mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, 8th
ed.
Ramdohr, Paul & Hugo Strunz. 1980. Klockmann's Lehrbuch der Mineralogie,
16th ed.
Ramdohr, Paul. 1980. The ore minerals and their intergrowths, 2nd ed., vols. 1-
2
Roberts, Willard Lincoln, Thomas J. Campbell & George Robert Rapp jr. 1990.
Encyclopedia of Minerals 2nd ed.
This page is written and maintaned by Claus Hedegaard
