05/03/2026
This is a new find I made recently in New Jersey! I call it The Silver Surfer Pocket system with this being from the first pocket I hit.
This zone is producing unusually lustrous silver, white, and soft blue Prehnite, often accented by clear Calcite riders. What makes it especially interesting is what’s missing: so far, I haven’t seen any of the typical green prehnite in this area.
That color difference likely comes down to iron. The green tones most people associate with prehnite are caused by trace iron in its structure. In these low-grade hydrothermal basalt systems, minerals compete for available iron and in this pocket system, there’s a strong presence of Celadonite.
Celadonite readily incorporates iron into stable sheet silicates, which likely depleted the surrounding fluid of iron early on. As a result, the prehnite here formed with a much cleaner chemistry, giving rise to the pure, bright silver-white and subtle blue tones you see in these specimens.
geology mineralogy calcite gems nature thecraftminer fine minerals gardenstateminerals newjersey beautiful quarry
