Roger Weller, geology instructor
wellerr@cochise.edu
Fluorescent Minerals
Steve Tyminski
Physical Geology
Fall 2007
Scheelite
Scheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral and is an important ore of tungsten. Well-formed crystals are sought by collectors and are occasionally fashioned into gemstones when suitably free of flaws. Scheelite is associated with wolframite in placer deposits and forms in pegmatites and areas of contact metamorphism. Scheelite was named after Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, the discoverer of tungsten. Notable localities include Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Burma, England, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and the United States.
This
example of scheelite is from the Tungsten Reef Mine in the Huachuca
Mountains of Cochise County, AZ. Photo is from the private collection of
Roy Parsons.

Scheelite, normal light: tan mixed with quartz, white
Scheelite, ultraviolet light :
blue-white.