Nekoite Locality: Iron Cap Mine, Landsman Camp (Landsman group), Aravaipa , Santa Teresa Mts, Aravaipa District, Graham County, Arizona , USA ( Locality at mindat.org ) Field of view 5 mm. Depth of field is achieved with CombineZM. Specimen and photo Leon Hupperichs. — Photo: Leon Hupperichs · CC BY-SA 3.0
Nekoite
A white hydrated calcium silicate first published in 1956.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Nekoite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula Ca₃Si₆O₁₅·7H₂O.
It crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system (space group P1).
Key properties: specific gravity 2.21–2.24; Vitreous luster; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Nk, grandfathered status — known before the IMA’s founding, named in 1956.
Found in a contact metamorphosed limestone deposit (Crestmore, California, USA).
It is found associated with Apophyllite (Crestmore, California, USA); heulandite, apophyllite (Caxias do Sul, Brazil).
An anagram of OKENite, for which it was originally mistaken.