Celestine in Ohio
GeoFacts No. 28 OHIO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES • DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
CELESTINE IN OHIO
The sublime beauty of a mineral often is refl ected in its name: is rapidly being replaced by liquid crystal display (LCD) and celestine (celestite), which comes from the Greek “coelestis” other technologies. Minor uses of strontium include refi ning of meaning celestial, alludes to the light-blue color of the mineral zinc, toothpaste for sensitive teeth, and as an additive to drill- named by German geologist Abraham Gottlieb Werner. The ing fl uids for oil-and-gas wells in the United States. Strontium name is derived from a bedded, fi brous variety discovered in atoms are used for the world’s most accurate clocks. 1799 in Blair County, Pennsylvania. Today celestine is the name offi cially recognized by the International Mineralogical Associa- Crystallography and physical properties of celestine tion. The spectacular, prismatic crystals discovered on “Strontian Crystal Symmetry Orthorhombic dipyramidal Island” (Green Island) in 1820, west of Put-in-Bay in the Ohio portion of Lake Erie, were the most sought after by collectors Moh’s Hardness 3–3.5 and museums during the nineteenth century. A quick search Specifi c gravity (g/cm3) 4.0 of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum mineral database Fracture Irregular lists 89 celestine specimens from Ohio; 16 of those specify Lake Erie as a location. Classic Ohio celestine localities include the Cleavage Perfect on {001}; good on {210}; poor on {010} Lime City quarry (Wood County) and the unique, world-class Streak White Crystal Cave on South Bass Island. Solubility Very slightly soluble in water
GEOLOGIC SETTING WHERE TO SEE CELESTINE Celestine occurs primarily in Devonian-age and Silurian-age dolomitic limestone associated with the Findlay Arch of north- Crystal Cave on South Bass Island is a globally unique un- western Ohio. It also rarely can be found in the vicinity of the derground display of stunning celestine crystals up to 18 inches Serpent Mound meteorite impact structure located in south- (45 cm) in length. It is often described as the “world’s largest central Ohio. Faulting and fracturing along the Findlay Arch geode,” although it lacks many of the geologic features associ- facilitated movement of hot, saline fl uids containing an enriched ated with a geode. Celestine was fi rst discovered on South Bass content of strontium and other elements that precipitated to form various minerals. The mineralization is most likely related to multiple fl uid migration events that also included secondary dolomitization of the host rock. Celestine has been found in the Devonian-age Detroit River Group, Dundee Limestone, Ten Mile Creek Dolomite, and Silica Formation on the west fl ank of the Findlay Arch and the Columbus and Delaware Limestones on the crest and east fl ank of the Findlay Arch. Celestine also has been found in the Silurian-age Salina Group (including Bass Islands Dolomite), Tymochtee Dolomite, Greenfi eld Dolomite, and Lockport Dolomite on the crest or eastern fl ank of the Arch. Celestine crystals normally line small vugs or occur along frac- tures; quarry operations sometimes expose large, mineralized cavities several feet across.
MINERALOGY
Celestine is a strontium sulfate (SrSO4), related to barite (BaSO4), and usually forms crystals or aggregates in cavities and fractures of dolostone in northwestern Ohio. Celestine is transparent to translucent and generally white to light blue but may be colorless or pale yellow. Crystals often occur in tabular, bladed, columnar, or blocky habits. Celestine is relatively soft (can be scratched easily with a knife), heavy, and appears vitre- ous to pearly. Several Ohio localities produce multiple mineral specimens that may include celestine and purple, yellow, or brown fl uorite (CaF2); stontianite (SrCO3); barite; sphalerite
(ZnS); calcite (CaCO3); and rarely galena (PbS). Celestine is the primary ore for strontium and has not been mined in the United States since 1959; worldwide supply comes primarily from Mexico. The major uses of strontium are fl ares and fi reworks (crimson color); ferric ceramic magnets; and glass Celestine crystal group, 7.5 cm in height, from a quarry near Portage, Wood for cathode ray tubes used in color televisions, although this use County, Ohio. John Medici specimen, Terry Huizing photo.
continued ➮ mining history.GalenaisthestatemineralofbothMissouriand eral ofIllinoisis fl Ohio isnotamongthosethatrecognizeastatemineral,although generation ofthefamily. visitors ofthe50-acreHeinemanWinery,operatedbyfourth Today, thismagni chamber CrystalCaveof accessible totourists.Theapproximately35-ft-long,multiple- crystals wereexcavatedfromthe family. GustavHeinemanestimatedthat150tonsofcelestine Cave in1894andeventuallyledtoownershipbytheHeineman ties ledtoaSheriff’ssaleofthepropertythatcontainedCrystal decades offailedminingventuresandother tools, largeamountsofcelestinewerediscovered.Thefollowing stuck atapproximately30feetandwhilerecoveringthedrilling vineyard propertybydrillingawaterwell.Thedrillbitbecame Island in1859.In1880,HermanHerbsterwasimprovinghis int,avarietyofquartz,isthestategemstone.Themin- An of fi cial statemineralhasbeenadoptedby23U.S.states. celestine deposits;mya=millionyears ago. Bedrock GeologicMapofOhioshowing theFindlayArchmineraldistrict,SerpentMoundzinc andselectedlocations 0 0 HAMILTON BUTLER PREBLE DARKE MERCER VAN WERT PAULDING 02 04 50kilometers 40 30 20 10 DEFIANCE WILLIAMS 02 040miles 30 20 10 The Divisionof GeologicalSurveyGeoFacts Seriesisavailableonlineat fl uorite becauseofitsbeautifulspecimensand fi cent naturalwonderisstillopenfortoursto MONTGOMERY Serpent Mound AUGLAIZE MIAMI zinc district FULTON WARREN SHELBY ALLEN PUTNAM CLERMONT HENRY fi cially openedtothepublicin1898. GREENE Findlay Arch mineral district BROWN CLARK CHAMPAIGN CLINTON LOGAN fl HANCOCK LUCAS oor ofthecavesoitwouldbe • ThisGeoFacts compiledbyMarkE.Wolfe •May2014 HARDIN HIGHLAND ADAMS WOOD FAYETTE UNION MADISON MARION OTTAWA WYANDOT Impact Structure PIKE Serpent Mound fi ROSS nancial dif nancial SCIOTO SANDUSKY DELAWARE PICKAWAY FRANKLIN CRAWFORD SENECA MORROW ERIE HURON JACKSON FAIRFIELD fi VINTON LICKING LAWRENCE cul- RICHLAND KNOX HOCKING PERRY GALLIA ASHLAND LORAIN the enigmaticcelestinedepositatCrystalCave. historic mininghistory),withtheaddedglobalsigni from Ohiohassimilarattributes(wonderfulspecimensand Wisconsin forsimilarreasons.Onecouldarguethatcelestine USGS, 2014,Mineralcommoditysummary—strontium:U.S.Geologi- Ohio DivisionofGeologicalSurvey,1990(rev.2000,2004),General- Newell, A.L.,1995,TheCavesofPut-in-Bay:Put-in-Bay,Ohio,Lake Mindat.org, 2014,Celestine:Mineralandlocalitydatabase, Heineman’s Winerywebsite,lastaccessedApril14,2014at
STATE DEPARTMENT OF DIVISION OF recycled OF OHIO NATURAL RESOURCES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY paper