Scheelite

Scheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral, CaWO₄, and an important tungsten ore. Many specimens fluoresce blue-white to yellow under ultraviolet light, though impurities affect the color.

Tungsten: Tungsten is a dense metallic element with the highest melting point of any pure metal. Scheelite is one of the principal minerals from which tungsten is extracted.
Fluorescence: Fluorescence is light emission that occurs while a material absorbs electromagnetic radiation, often ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet excitation makes many scheelite specimens visibly glow.
Tungsten carbide: Tungsten carbide is a hard compound of tungsten and carbon used in cutting tools and wear-resistant parts. Tungsten recovered from scheelite can supply this major industrial material.
Pine Creek Tungsten Mine: Pine Creek Tungsten Mine is a major scheelite-bearing deposit in California's Bishop mining district. Its production illustrates the economic importance of scheelite-rich skarn deposits.
Calcium tungstate: Calcium tungstate is the inorganic compound CaWO₄, occurring naturally as scheelite and also made synthetically. This compound's formula identifies scheelite's defining chemical composition.
Activators and quenchers: Activators and quenchers are impurities that enhance or suppress luminescence in a material. Trace elements alter scheelite's fluorescence color and intensity.
Tungsten alloys: Tungsten alloys combine tungsten with other elements to produce materials suited to high-temperature or high-density applications. Scheelite-derived tungsten enters alloys used where heat resistance or density matters.
Tungsten Queen Mine: Tungsten Queen Mine is a historic tungsten mine in North Carolina's Hamme district. The mine is a notable United States example of scheelite-bearing ore.
Tungstate: Tungstate is an oxyanion containing tungsten in its highest common oxidation state, +6. The tungstate group supplies the tungsten-bearing anion in scheelite.
Hydrothermal circulation: Hydrothermal circulation is the movement of heated, chemically active water through rocks and fractures. Tungsten-bearing fluids can deposit scheelite as they cool or react with surrounding rocks.

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Carl Wilhelm ScheeleBroader topic: This mineral was named for Scheele after his work established its connection to tungstic acid.