mesolite

The structure of the aluminosilicate framework is the same for scolecite, natrolite and mesolite.

First settlements in this region are dated back to the epoch of mesolite (9-5th centuries B.C.).

Associated minerals include prehnite, scolecite and mesolite.

The crystals are frequently epitaxial overgrowths of natrolite, mesolite, and gonnardite in various orders.

Scolecite, like natrolite and mesolite, usually occurs as acicular (needle-like) and fibrous aggregations.

Like other zeolites, mesolite occurs as void fillings in amygdaloidal basalt also in andesites and hydrothermal veins.

Minerals with an acicular habit include mesolite, natrolite, malachite, gypsum, rutile, brochantite and bultfonteinite.

They include zeolite minerals such as chabazite, mesolite, stilbite, and heulandite, plus attractive quartz-related amethyst, agate, jasper, and many others.

Epitaxial intergrowths (intergrowths of two different crystalline substances in an non-random way) with mesolite, NaCaAlSiO.8HO, are common.

Scolecite is isostructural (having the same structure) with the sodium-calcium zeolite mesolite and the sodium zeolite natrolite, but it does not form a continuous chemical series with either of them.

In the Hwange area, vesicles consist mostly of quartz, chalcedony or calcite, though zeolites, such as stilbite, mesolite and laumontite, are dominant towards Victoria Falls and in the lower Deka valley and are common in north-eastern Botswana.