Tucson 2010
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Q10-30 Quartz (Doubly-Terminated) $48
Banská
Štiavnica Mining District, Štiavnica Mts, Banská Bystrica
Region, Slovakia
7.8 cm x 3.0 cm x 2.8 cm
Aesthetic doubly-terminated Quartz (SiO2) from an unusual locality. The core crystal is enveloped by smaller, DT, parallel-growth crystals in such a manner that the cross-section remains hexagonal. Half of the specimen is slightly smoky and clear, while the other half is milky and etched. A fascinating specimen.
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RUT10-1 Rutile Epitaxial on Hematite with Albite $125
Novo
Horizonte, Bahia, Northeast Region, Brazil
5.7 cm x 3.5 cm x 3.3 cm
A few years ago, there appeared some stunning matrix specimens of Rutile growing epitaxially on Hematite. They were priced in the tens of thousands, alas. So I was delighted to see an affordable miniature version this year at Tucson. Then to my surprise, as I was measuring this specimen for the website posting, I spotted a dozen small, transparent and colorless crystals (for example, see bottom photo) on the matrix as well - they turned out to be polysynthetically twinned Albite, very unusual-looking crystals.
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for larger view - image in SWUV
HAP10-1 Hydroxylapatite and Quartz on Orthoclase $125
Sapo mine, Conselheiro Pena, Doce valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil
13.5 cm x 8.0 cm x 3.7 cm
These chains of Hydroxylapatite (Apatite - (CaOH) : Ca5[OH|(PO4)3]) made their debut at the 2009 "Mineral Oddities" Tucson with a huge, off-matrix specimen called "the snake" being exhibited by Luiz Menezes. Here we have a Y-shaped chain on a matrix of Orthoclase (K[AlSi3O8]), the identity of which was confirmed by Jordi Fabre, who also confirmed the Hydroxyl nature of the Apatite. Under SWUV, the Hydroxylapatite fluoresces dull orange.
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image on right is 7 x 6 mm
ANNA10-3 Annabergite, Siderite and Adamite $18 SOLD
Km3,
Lavrion, Lavrion District Mines, Attikí Prefecture, Greece
2.2 cm x 1.9 cm x 1.0 cm; largest crystal size ~ 2 mm
Honey-colored rhombs of Siderite provide a background to bright green blades of Annabergite and pale yellow Adamite balls (they look white because my Dino-Lite uses LEDs) in a Limonite vug.
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image on right is 3 x 2 mm
ANNA10-4 Annabergite and Adamite $28
Km3,
Lavrion, Lavrion District Mines, Attikí Prefecture, Greece
2.8 cm x 2.0 cm x 0.6 cm; largest crystal size ~ 1 mm
On this specimen, the Annabergite blades form spiky balls, richly scattered amidst pale yellow Adamite on a scrap of Limonite.
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image on right is 4 x 3.5 mm
ZGG10-2 Guimarãesite(TL)/Greifensteinite/Zanazziite(TL)
with Eosphorite on Albite $68 SOLD
Ponte
do Piauí claim, Piauí valley, Taquaral, Itinga,
Jequitinhonha valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil
3.5 cm x 1.9 cm x 2.5 cm; ball of crystals ~ 3.5 mm
From a slightly different location still within the type locality (TL) designation of Taquaral, here is another of the triple beryllium phosphates Guimarãesite/Greifensteinite/Zanazziite. This time the matrix is bladed Albite, still accompanied by prismatic Eosphorite and the unknown cream-colored mineral, with 8 large beryllium phosphate balls.
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bottom image is 4.5 x 1.2 cm
QL10-2 Quartz (DT) Modified by Lightning $58
Diamantina,
Minas Gerais, Brazil
10.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 3.7 cm
From Luiz Menezes: "This is a quartz that was submitted, inside the rock where it was formed, to a high electrical voltage created by lightning hitting the rock (not the quartz crystal). Due to its piezoelectrical properties the quartz crystal, submitted to this high voltage, expands or contracts (depending on the signal of the electrical field, positive or negative), and on both possibilities the result is a weird crack pattern that develops on the crystals faces of the quartz. [There is] a paper about this matter published by Prof. Joachim Karfunkel et. al., from University of Minas Gerais, who found the explanation for these weird crack patterns."
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QL10-4 Quartz (DT) Modified by Lightning $42
Diamantina,
Minas Gerais, Brazil
6.9 cm x 1.3 cm x 1.3 cm
This is a doubly-terminated clear quartz with multiple terminations on one end. The modifications induced by the lightning strike form a chain of marks and indentations mostly on one face.
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MB10-1 Montebrasite $9 RESERVED
Fazenda
Pomaroli, Linópolis, Divino das Laranjeiras, Doce valley, Minas
Gerais, Southeast Region, Brazil
1.2 cm x 0.6 cm x 0.3 cm
A twinned crystal of Montebrasite : LiAl[(OH,F)|PO4] . The twinning is apparent at the tip to the left, and resembles the way Sphene twins, as if two thin crystals were glued back-to-back.
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FKH10-2 Fluoro-potassichastingsite (TL) $26
Greenwood Mine, Woodbury Township, Orange Co., New York
4.4 cm x 2.9 cm x 2.3 cm
Anticipating the serious demand for this irresistible black rock, I made sure that I had two Fluoro-potassichastingsites on hand. This one is slightly smaller, so act quickly if you desire the larger one!
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