INYOITE

    Class : Carbonates, nitrates, borates
    Subclass : Borates
    Crystal system : Monoclinic
    Chemistry : CaB3O3(OH)5 4H2O
    Rarity : Uncommon to fairly common

Inyoite is a calcium borate present in evaporitic borate deposits, where it notably accompanies borax, priceite, colemanite and meyerhofferite. It takes its name from its place of discovery : Furnace Creek in Inyo County (USA). Inyoite forms stubby or tabular prismatic crystals, frequently united in roughly spherolitic aggregates ; it is colorless or white, exceptionally pink. It is a boron ore.

Main photo : Inyoite from Monte Azul deposit, Sijes, Argentina © Rob Lavinsky

Inyoite from Monte Azul deposit, Sijes, Argentina © Rob Lavinsky
Inyoite from Monte Azul deposit, Sijes, Argentina © Vasco Trancoso
Inyoite from Monte Azul deposit, Sijes, Argentina © Rock Currier
Inyoite from Monte Blanco, Inyo County, California, USA © Rob Lavinsky

Inyoite in the World

Inyoite is present in most borate deposits around the world. It is one of the dominant borates from Lake Inder, near Atyrau (Kazakhstan), also well represented in Californian deposits (Boron and Furnace Creek in Death Valley). It is also found in gypsum voids in the large Canadian deposit of Hillsborough (New Brunswick) and in the Argentine salars.

Inyoite in France

Inyoite is not present in the French underground.

Twinning

No twins known for this mineral species.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes recorded for this mineral species.


Hardness : 2
Density : 1.87
Fracture : Irregular
Streak : White

TP : Translucent to transparent
RI : 1.490 to 1.520
Birefringence : 0.026
Optical character : Biaxial -
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : White

Solubility : Water, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid

Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None