Minerals
Several unusual minerals are known from Tasmania: crocoite, stichtite, ferroaxinite from Dundas, sellaite, chondrodite, norbergite, wagnerite and fluoborite from Mount Bischoff, heazlewoodite (Originally discovered in Tasmania) and shandite from the Trial Harbour nickel mine. From Mount Lyell there are rare minerals: mawsonite, betechtinite, florenceite, hessite, jalpaite, magnesiofoitite, svanbergite-woodhousite, stannoidite, stromeyerite, and zunyite.
Tasmanite the mineral named after Tasmania is in Dana's classification as an Oxygenated hydrocarbon. It consists of reddish brown scales about 1 mm across. It is insoluble in benzene, carbon disulfide, turpentine, ether or alcohol. It contains about 5% sulfur. It is found on the banks of the Mersey River. The shale it is present in, is a kind of oil shale.
Pelionite is a name for cannel coal from Mount Pelion East and Barn Bluff. This term is no longer used.
William Frederick Petterd was an amateur who studied minerals in Tasmania. He built up the Petterd collection which was donated to the Royal Society of Tasmania and stored at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. He discovered dundasite, named from the mine where it was found. Dundaisite has formula PbAl2(CO3)2(OH)4.H2O. It is a silky milk white spherical aggregate.
Philipsbornite, PbAl3(AsO4)2(OH)5.H2O was originally found in the Adelaide mine and identified as a new mineral by Professor Walenta. It was named after another German professor Philipsborn. It occurs as several other mines and appears as a greenish grey earth.
Shandite, Ni3Pb2S2, was first discovered at Trial Harbour by P. Ramdohr in 1960.
Read more about this topic: Geology Of Tasmania