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crocidolite
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Riebeckite (of the crocidolite variety) from South Africa. crocidolite asbestos
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Basalt sample returned by Apollo 15, from near a long sinous lunar valley called Hadley Rille. Measured at 3.3 years old.
(Bed) Rocks and (Flint) Stones
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Also called:
Blue Asbestos
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crocidolite

mineral
Also known as: blue asbestos
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
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History

crocidolite, a gray-blue to leek-green, fibrous form of the amphibole mineral riebeckite. It has a greater tensile strength than chrysotile asbestos but is much less heat-resistant, fusing to black glass at relatively low temperatures. The major commercial source is South Africa, where it occurs in ironstone; it is also found in Australia and Bolivia.

Crocidolite is often replaced by quartz, forming the chatoyant semiprecious gems tigereye and hawk’s-eye.