Our Provincial Mineral
Stilbite is one of the minerals from the zeolite family, abundant in the Jurassic-aged basalt flows along the Bay of Fundy and Minas Basin. It is known for its beautiful wheat-sheaf structures of white, grey, yellow or brownish-red. Nova Scotia stilbite, with its lovely crystals, eye-catching colours and relative abundance, features prominently in mineral books. Stilbite and the other zeolites are also useful in industry. In industry these minerals make excellent natural filters because of their structure and chemically sticky surfaces. In 1999, stilbite became the provincial mineral of Nova Scotia.