Home > Borate Minerals – April 22 > MS1798 Ulexite (China!)

Ulexite (China!) - Sold


Ulexite is a complex hydrated sodium calcium borate (Ghose et al., 1978). In an appendix to his 1850 System of Mineralogy, professor James Dana named the species after German chemist George Ludwig Ulex (1811-1883).

This is an unusual locality for ulexite, this piece coming from western China. Ulexite forms cauliflower-like masses to 1.7 cm in dried mud. This specimen is very friable; it would likely shed on shipment. From the collection of Richard C. Erd (1924-2008), a mineralogist specializing in borates at the USGS. Labels from Erd and Mineralogical Research Company accompany the piece.