General Information: Chemical Formula:CaSO4
Composition:(Molecular Weight = 136.14 gm)
Calcium 29.44 %
CaSulfur 23.55 %
S Oxygen 47.01 %
O Empirical Formula: Ca(SO4)
Environment:Sedimentary beds, gangue in ore veins, and in traprock zeolite occurrences.
Locality:World wide occurrences where marine evaporite beds occur. Often interbedded with halite.
Name Origin:From the Greek anhydros, meaning "waterless" (In contrast to Gypsum, which contains water).
Physical Properties: Cleavage:[010] Perfect, [100] Perfect, [001] Good
Color:colorless, white, bluish white, violet white, or dark gray.
Density:2.96 - 2.98, Average = 2.97
Diaphaniety:Transparent to Subtransparent to translucent
Habits:Massive - Granular - Common texture observed in granite and other igneous rock., Massive - Fibrous - Distinctly fibrous fine-grained forms., Plumose - "Mica-like" minerals forming agg regates of plume-like forms.
Hardness:3.5 - Copper Penny
Luminescence:None.
Luster:Vitreous - Pearly
Streak:white
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