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TRONA is a rare mineral. There are only a few locations where it is found, Owens Lake, Inyo County, California, Africa, China, Turkey, and Mexico; and the only site where it is commercially mined is Wyoming's Sweetwater County.

This specimen is from Owens Lake, Inyo County, California,USA

Trona is a naturally occurring mineral that is chemically known as sodium sesquircarbonate, the raw material for soda ash. Soda ash is a versatile chemical used to make glass, paper, laundry detergents and many other products you come in contact with every day use. Soda ash is also used as a raw material in the manufacturing of other chemicals, including sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium phosphates (detergents).

Physical Characteristics of Trona:
Color: is gray, colorless, white, pale brown or yellowish.
Luster: is vitreous.
Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent.
Crystal System: is monoclinic; 2/m.
Crystal Habits include prismatic to blocky crystals, but usually massive, fibrous or columnar.
Cleavage: is perfect in one direction and poor in two others.
Fracture: is subconchoidal to uneven.
Hardness: is 2.5 - 3.
Specific Gravity : is 2.1 (well below average)
Streak: is white.
Associated Minerals: include hanksite, gaylussite, halite, pirssonite, northupite, nahcolite, borax and calcite.
Other Characteristics: Has an alkaline taste.
Best Field Indicators: environment of formation, color, cleavage, density, crystal habit, taste and locality.
Noteable Occurrences:
Searles Lake, San Bernardino County, California
Borax Lake, Lake County, California
Owens Lake, Inyo County, California
Mono Lake, Mono County, California
Green River, Wyoming
Iran
Tibet
Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
Mongolia

Order # TRON01

Price: £40 ($65US €60)