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Elaterite

Naturally-occurring brown elastic substance

Elaterite

Naturally-occurring brown elastic substance

Elaterite, also known as aeonite, elasticite, elastic bitumen, or mineral caoutchouc, is a brown, often sticky, hydrocarbon. First discovered at Castleton, Derbyshire, in England, elaterite is not considered to be a mineral species. It has sometimes been confused with coorongite, found in Australia, but it has been determined that the origins of the two substances differ.

History and etymology

Elaterite was first discovered at Castleton in Derbyshire, England.

The origin of the name elaterite lies in the Greek word ελατηρ, meaning "pine", so named as it was assumed to have formed from the resin in pine trees.

Description

The substance varies somewhat in consistency, being sometimes soft, elastic and sticky, like India rubber, and occasionally hard and brittle. It is usually dark brown in colour and slightly translucent.

It is not considered to be a mineral species.

Although coorongite is of a very similar composition to elaterite, it is not the same substance nor of the same origin.

Occurrence in nature

Cave and elaterite, Windy Knoll quarry

  • Castleton, Derbyshire: Elaterite can be found beside the Windy Knoll Cave and the lead mines of Odin in Derbyshire, England, UK.

  • Strawberry, Utah, US: Elaterite can be found in the Indian Canyon, Sams Canyon, Dry Fork, and Lake canyon, as well as in tributaries of the Strawberry River in Duchesne County. It occurs in vertical veins 1-22 in wide, 2-200 ft high, and a maximum length of 3.25 mi.

  • Nantes, France

  • Two locations in Bolivia: Gallofa mine in Colquechaca Municipality and Animas-Chocaya in Atocha Municipality

  • Besner Mine, Henvey Township, Ontario, Canada

  • Lime Rock, Rhode Island, Connecticut, US

References

;Attribution

References

  1. "Elaterite".
  2. Brown, H. Y. L. ''[https://brittlebooks.library.illinois.edu/brittlebooks_open/books2009-03/0001catsou/0001catsou.pdf Catalogue of South Australian Minerals]'', 1893, p.14
  3. (23 August 2025). "Coorongite".
  4. (August 1999). "Cannel coals: implications for classification and terminology". International Journal of Coal Geology.
  5. "MNA112374".
  6. "Windy Knoll Quarry, Castleton, High Peak, Derbyshire, England, UK".
  7. (1907). "The Hydrocarbon Field of Western Colorado and Eastern Utah on the Projected Line of the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway: Report on the Above to Mr. A. C. Ridgway, General Manager".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

hydrocarbons organic-minerals
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