OKENITE & GYROLITE

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

Wonderful cabinet size specimen with an excellently formed puffball of okenite, formed directly next to a cluster of light olive green gyrolite, atop a blanket of unidentified zeolite crystals. The arrangement on top of the basalt matrix allows it to be arranged in a variety of different angles.

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The Malad Quarry (often called Kandivli-Damupada) exploits Deccan Trap basalt flows erupted approximately 66-65 Ma, with secondary minerals forming in gas cavities through low-temperature hydrothermal fluids. The quarry system produced some of the world's finest okenite specimens - white "cotton ball" or "furry" radiating aggregates reaching 3 cm diameter, typically associated with pale olive-green to cream-colored gyrolite spheres up to 2 cm across. These combinations often occur on prehnite, apophyllite, or quartz matrix, creating striking textural contrasts. What makes Malad historically significant is its status as the world's premier gyrolite locality and one of the finest sources for aesthetic okenite; Rock Currier, who pioneered Indian mineral distribution to Western markets in the 1970s-1980s, sourced extensively from these quarries. The quarries closed permanently in the mid-2010s due to suburban expansion around Mumbai, making authentic Malad material increasingly scarce. Colored okenite specimens purportedly from India are artificial dyes added to the mineral.