33831: Uncommon and Rare Minerals

The minerals listed here are from a collection rich in uncommon species and/or uncommon localities. The descriptions in quotes are taken from the collection catalog (where available). The specimens vary from pretty and photogenic to truly ugly (as is common with rare species). Some are just streaks, specks, and stains. Previous dealer labels are included where available.

Key to the size given at the end of each listing: Small cabinet = larger than a miniature; fits in a 9 x 8 cm box. Miniature = fits in a 6 x 6 cm box, but larger than a thumbnail. Thumbnail = fits in a standard Perky thumbnail box. Small = fits in a box which (fits inside a standard thumbnail box; sometimes a true micromount. FragBag = a set of two or more chunks in a small plastic bag.

Aluminocopiapite. Champion Mine, White Mountain Peak, White Mountains, Mono County, California. "Orange-white masses, possibly pseudomorphs, as porous crusty deposits. Associated on bottom surface with white acicular crystals, possibly halotrichite." From David Shannon. Very small.

Arhbarite. El Guanaco Mine, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, Chile. "Thin deep blue crusts, sparse on fracture surface of rock." From David Shannon. Small.

Beraunite. Polk County, Arkansas. "Small sample composed of beraunite crystals (intergrown with green mineral to form body of specimen) and forming a vug in center of specimen. The vug is lined with large beraunite crystals most so dark as to appear black but transparent deep red in one section of vug. Exceptional for species. The crystalline vug surfaces are covered in spots with clusters of pale green to white botryoidal mineral(s)." From David Garske. Small.

Blödite. Soda Lake deposit, Soda Lake area, Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, California. "Single crystal, off matrix, with mostly smooth faces. Heavily impregnated with clay and other inclusions and is dark grey to black with faint translucency near surface." From Girdauskas Minerals. Very small.

Brochantite. Grand View Mine, Horseshoe Mesa, Grand View Mining District, Grand Canyon, Coconino County, Arizona. "Stout poorly defined crystals and dark green crystalline crust with linarite (?) and cyanotrichite (?) on and in matrix. The cyanotrichite appears to be pseudomorphic after a previous material, or perhaps spangolite (?) or brochantite (?)." From Microminerals International. Very small.

Brochantite. Morococha Mine, Morococha District, Yauli Province, Junín, Peru. "Dark green intergrown tabular crystals, appearing almost black, in vugs of rock. Fair to poor." From Microminerals International. Very small.

Brochantite. Zinc Hill Mine, Zinc Hill, Zinc Hill Mining District, Argus Mountains, Inyo County, California. "Rich green crystals, some doubly terminated in vugs of massive brochantite (?)." From Microminerals International. Very small.

Connellite. 150 foot level, Gold Hill Mine, Gold Hill Mining District, Tooele County, Utah. "Sky blue acicular crystals in vug of quartzite." From David Shannon. Small.

Coquimbite. Dexter No. 7 Mine, Calf Mesa, San Rafael Mining District, Emery County, Utah. "Pale lavender crystal segment with flat termination." From Southwest Scientific. Very small.

Cornwallite. Arkaroola Region, Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Australia. "Green crust on small rock fragment with crystallized copper mineral." From Mineralogical Research. Small.

Diadochite. Litošice, Pardubice District, Pardubice Region, Czech Republic. "Tan fine grained friable mass." From David Garske. Very small.

Griphite. Sitting Bull pegmatite, Keystone, Keystone Mining District, Pennington County, South Dakota. "Three small masses dark brown to black." From Mineralogical Research. Small.

Page 1 Halotrichite and Magnesiocopiapite. Denver Mine, Palmetto Mining District, Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. "Scattered clusters of white acicular micro crystals on/in loose friable aggregates of granular to crystalline magnesiocopiapite." Supplier not recorded. Very small.

Jarosite. Goldfield Mining District, Esmeralda County, Nevada. "Crystal crust on intergrown tabular crystals sitting on edge. Transparent, rich brown crystals. Poorly displayed on matrix." From Microminerals International. Very small.

Kalsilite. Vispi Quarry, San Venanzo, Terni Province, Umbria, Italy. "White to acicular crystals in vugs of volcanic rock. Crystals are uncommon. Small elongated white hexagonal prisms may also be kalsilite." From Paragon Mineral Company. Small.

Lavendulan. El Guanaco Mine, Guanaco (Huanaco), Santa Catalina, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, Chile. "Nice micro crystallized lavendulan on white rock surface with scattered quantity of [unidentified] green mineral." Bright! Supplier unknown. Small.

Linarite and Anglesite. Cwmystwyth Mine, Cwmystwyth, Upper Llanfihangell-y-Creuddyn, Ceredigion, Wales. "Small crystal spray with very fine small colorless anglesite crystals." From Simkev Minerals. Small.

Linarite. Blanchard Mine, Hansonburg District, Socorro County, New Mexico. "Typical bladed crystals intergrown on very friable bladed matrix (probably anglesite)." From Elmac. Small.

Lipscombite. Silver Coin Mine, Valmy, Iron Point Mining District, Humboldt County, Nevada. "Green botryoidal coating (very small spheroids) on vuggy quartz rock." From Mineralogical Research. Thumbnail.

Magnesiocopiapite and Halotrichite. Denver Mine, Palmetto Mining District, Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. "Loose friable aggregates of orange magnesiocopiapite micro crystals or granular masses intergrown or overcoated with sparse to moderate quantities of acicular micro crystals of halotrichite." From David Shannon. Very small; two specimens.

Matulaite. General Trimble's Mine, East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. "White crystalline coatings lining small vugs impregnating porous areas of phosphitic rock." From David Shannon. Small.

Mimetite. Moon Anchor Mine, Osborn Mining District, Maricopa County, Arizona. "Fine yellow acicular crystals forming dense mats on rock. In center of vug, the upper layers of crystals appear white and may be another species although [chemically] pure mimetite is colorless." Fuzzy! From David Shannon. Small.

Mimetite. Penberthy Croft Mine, St Hilary, Cornwall, England. "Colorless [to light green] hexagonal prisms on rock. Specimen originally identified as cornubite and dark green dense aggregates are sparsely scattered on rock with other alteration minerals." From Simkev Minerals. Small.

Mixite. Gold Hill Mine, Gold Hill Mining District, Tooele County, Utah. "Flat spray of acicular pale green to pale blue-green on matrix." From Mineralogical Research. Small.

Natrolite. Head of Tick Canyon, Tick Canyon, Lang, Los Angeles County, California. "Very fine, water clear, terminated micro crystals in crystalline white natrolite from vug in volcanic rock. Superb sample. Self-collected." Natrolite from this locality is usually massive and uninteresting. Very small.

Phosphosiderite. Stewart Mine, Pala District, San Diego County, California. "Bright purple mass in phosphate rock." From Microminerals International. Small.

Plumbojarosite. Lomo Deltoro Mine, Zimapán, Zimapán Municipality, Hidalgo, Mexico. "Capsule to tan, fine grained powder." From David Garske. Very small.

Purpurite. Sandamap pegmatite, Sandamap North Farm 115, Dâures, Erongo Region, Namibia. "Purple cleavable masses with quartz." From David Shannon. Thumbnail.

Page 2 Schulenbergite. Bastenberg Mine, Ramsbeck, Bestwig, Hochsauerlandkreis, Arnsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. "Pale blue-green to green-white (acicular?) crystals, very small, as crust over fine-grained blue copper mineral coating on small matrix sample." From Simkev Minerals. Very small.

Susannite. Lautenthal slag locality, Goslar District, Lower Saxony, Germany. "Translucent white flat hexagonal crystal plates on vuggy volcanic rock, the largest well displayed. Collected by Mathias Rheinlander in 1994." From David Shannon. Small.

Svanbergite. Mount Brussilof Mine, Radium Hot Springs, Golden Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada. "Crystal cluster of orange crystals with small crystals of calcite (?). One small doubly terminated quartz crystal is on one edge of specimen." From Simkev Minerals. Very small.

Tamarugite and Sideronatrite. Le Cetine di Cotorniano Mine, Chiusdino, Siena Province, Tuscany, Italy. "White crystalline powdery coating on gypsum (?), associated with sideronatrite." From Walstrom Enterprises. Very small.

Tangeite. Richardson Mining District, Grand County, Utah. "Flat bladed yellow-green crystals on greenish stain on rock." From Mineralogical Research. Small.

Tinticite. Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. "Small soft fine grained nodule with white to very pale cream to grey color. One small patch of dark tan material. Nodules often have very thin coat of montgomeryite. Collected by J. Melgarejo." From David Shannon. Small.

Tugtupite. Kvanefjeld, Ilímaussaq complex, Narsaq, Kujalleq, Greenland. "Glassy pink masses intergrown with white massive material, possibly nepheline, in syenite. Poor specimen." Vivid orange fluorescence under both longwave and shortwave UV. From Natures Treasures. Thumbnail.

Tyrolite. Copper stope, Majuba Hill Mine, Antelope Mining District, Pershing County, Nevada. "Microcrystalline aggregates forming crust on rock." From Hatfield Goudey. Very small.

Väyrynenite (type locality). Viitaniemi pegmatite, Eräjärvi area, Orivesi, Pirkanmaa, Finland. "Portion of pale pink, radial crystal spray on pegmatite matrix." From David Shannon. Three small specimens.

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