Mookaite

Mookaite is a locally coined trade name for a crypto- to mikrocrystalline quartz-rock, which forms in the weathering profile of a geological formation called Windalia Radiolarite in Western Australia.

Mookaite shop





Some examples of the impressive range of colours and patterns of mookaite

Geologically speaking, mookaite is a silicified radiolarite, a biogenic sedimentary rock, composed of the endoskeletons of radiolaria.

Origin of name: named after Mooka Creek, on the western side of the Kennedy Range, about 180km east of the coastal town of Carnarvon, where mookaite is quarried since the 1960ies.

Synonyms and trade names: none. However, mookaite is often and incorrectly termed chert, jasper or chalcedony.

Can be confused with: due to the striking colours and patterns, most mookaite can hardly be confused.

There are, however, mookaites of rather unspectacular colours and patterns, which can easily be confused with jasper.



Localities: along Mooka Creek, Kennedy Range, Western Australia

A rough slab of mookaite

Handling: Sensitive to hydrofluoric acid only. Keep away from galvanic baths. Otherwise unproblematic.

Mookaite shop