33832: 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.

Anatase, Chlorite, and Quartz. Binn Valley, Valais, Switzerland. "Small yellow-brown crystals implanted on quartz crystals. Surface coated with granular green chlorite. Fair specimen but from a famous locality." From Southwest Scientific. Miniature.

Anatase. Sunny Prospect, White Mountains, Mono County, California. "Translucent orange bipyramidal crystal on rock. Darker smaller crystal more difficult to see is close to the larger crystal." Supplier not recorded. Very small.

Azurite. Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona. "Small azurite 'roses' on small rock fragment. The azurite spheroids appear to consist of slightly curved flattened plates in an overlapping spiral. Attractive under magnification." From David Shannon. Very small.

Beryllite. Ilímaussaq complex, Narsaq, Kujalleq, Greenland. "White chalky masses thinly scattered on/in rock with crude reddish black neptunite and pyrochlore (?)." From Mineralogical Research. Very small.

Brookite. Lemolo Lake, Douglas County, Oregon. "Micro crystals on fragments of andesite. The crystals are dark in color (appear black) with lustrous, striated faces. They occur in vugs in the andesite associated with [unknown mineral]. The andesine is very vuggy but only a few vugs have brookite (or visible brookite). Most vugs have crude pale brown crystalline coatings, perhaps a feldspar. These vugs have clusters of iridescent crystals which may be magnetite. The brookite occurs in rare vugs without the coating and of the same color as the andesine." From Minerals Unlimited. FragBag.

Cerussite, Crocoite. Red Lead Mine, Dundas mineral field, Zeehan district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia. "Somewhat crude twinned crystals or cerussite. Largest is a V-twin. Scattered over matrix are crude dull to sharp lustrous crocoite crystals." From David Shannon. Very small.

Cerussite. C and B Mine, Christmas, Banner Mining District, Dripping Spring Mountains, Gila County, Arizona. "Vugs in massive cerussite contains pseudomorphs of cerussite after unknown mineral(s). Also has some clear cerussite crystal prisms." From David Shannon. Very small.

Cervantite and Stibnite. White Caps Mine, Manhattan District, Nye County, Nevada. "Rich yellow crusts and thin coatings on and between stibnite crystals. Crude to fine crystals, white to colorless, are probably valentinite. Stibiconite may also be present." From David Shannon. Small.

Chambersite. Venice Salt dome, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. "Two very sharp pseudotetrahedral crystals, one near colorless but with cloudy inclusions, the second very dark purple, nearly black. Light sensitive." From Mathieson Minerals. Very small.

Chrysoberyl. Lac Alaotra Chrysoberyl Pegmatites, Ambatondrazaka, Alaotra-Mangoro, Madagascar. "Translucent dark green crystal segment, one half of fine trilling. Center is in part with reddish granular mineral, possibly garnet. Specimen would be fine if whole." From David Shannon. Very small.

Page 1 Claudetite. Saxonia dump slag locality, Freiberg smelter, Freiberg, Mittelsachsen, Saxony, Germany. "White powder. Sparse. Collected in roadcut. Crude pale yellow-green crystals possibly octahedral is probably arsenolite." From David Shannon. FragBag.

Diaspore. Saga quarries, Sagåsen, Auenlandet, Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway. "Dull pale green bladed crystals with fine white acicular natrolite in vug." From Simkev Minerals. Very small.

Emplectite, Fluorite. Daniel Mine, Gallenbach valley, Wittichen, Schenkenzell, Rottweil, Freiburg Region, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. "Brassy (?) acicular crystals in vugs of pale purple fluorite cube; all on friable rock matrix. The vug appears to be immediately adjacent to slickensides fault surface at contact of rock and fluorite. Emplectite normally grey to tin white but these crystals when not coated with dull grey earthy coating are brassy. Maybe tarnish but possible misidentification." From Mineralogical Research. Very small.

Hambergite. Pala District, San Diego County, California. (I suspect this specimen is from the Himalaya Mine, Mesa Grande District, where hambergite is much more plentiful than in any Pala District Mines. The Himalaya Mine is often assigned to the Pala District either by persons less familiar with San Diego County localities, or in older references, when the mine was, in fact, part of the Pala District. --S.H.) "Fine white lath-like crystals twinned in reticulated growth." From David New. Very small.

Helvine. Luna County, New Mexico. "[Fragment of a specimen having] intergrown crystal group, coated by limonite stain and therefore difficult to see. With very fine small crystals, very sharp in vugs." From Walstrom. Small.

Högbomite and Spinel. Dewitts Corners area, Bathurst Township, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada. "Sample of calcite with högbomite, spinel, calcite, and carborundum." From Simkev Minerals. Three very smalls.

Holmquistite. Greenbushes Tinfield, Bridgetown-Greenbushes Shire, Western Australia, Australia. "Bluish- black prisms in friable clay matrix. The crude crystals appear almost to be granular aggregates or numerous small parallel crystals rather than single crystals." From David Garske. Miniature.

Ilmenite. Near Madawaska Mine, Faraday Township, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada. "Crude crystal with quartz crystals attached to back." From David Joyce. Very small.

Jadeite. Russian River, Cloverdale area, Mendocino County, California. "Crude pale green crystals in crystalline jadeite on matrix." From Bart Cannon. Very small.

Kaersutite. Seven miles south of Hoover Dam, Mohave County, Arizona. "Black crystal fragments in camptonite volcanic rock." From David Shannon. Miniature.

Kinoite, Apophyllite. Christmas Mine, Christmas, Banner Mining District, Dripping Spring Mountains, Gila County, Arizona. "Blue crystalline masses and veins with apophyllite in /on matrix. Several micro crystal sprays show some bruising. Much of apophyllite encloses kinoite. Green impregnating areas of matrix and appearing as bruised waxy small masses (sparse) is probably gilalite." From Mineral Mailbox. Thumbnail.

Magnetite. Mt Vesuvius, Somma-Vesuvius Complex, Naples, Campania, Italy. "Micro octahedron on rock." Not a rare species, but an interesting locality. Supplier not recorded. Very small.

Minium. Tonopah-Belmont Mine, Belmont Mountain, Tonopah, Osborn Mining District, Maricopa County, Arizona. "Orange-red pseudomorphs on rock. May be litharge or intermixed with litharge." From David New. Very small.

Nordstrandite. Brønnebukta, Siktesøya, Langesundsfjorden, Porsgrunn, Vestfold og Telemark, Norway. "Translucent colorless aggregates in vugs." From Simkev Minerals. FragBag.

Osumilite. McKenzie Pass, Lane County, Oregon. Numerous fragments of andesine matrix having osumilite crystals which appear black (but are actually blue). From Minerals Unlimited. FragBag.

Page 2 Perovskite. Löhley, Üdersdorf, Daun, Vulkaneifel District, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. "Dendritic crystal growth consisting of stacked cubes tapering to a point and forming a spire or parallel growth forming rows of spires fused together. In vuggy nepheline rock sample." From Simkev Minerals. Two small specimens.

Pseudobrookite and Topaz. Topaz Mountain, Thomas Range, Juab County, Utah. "Cluster of micro [pseudobrookite] crystals with acicular habit in vug." From David Shannon. Small.

Pseudobrookite. Beryllium Virgin claim, Paramount Canyon, Sierra County, New Mexico. "Finely terminated crystal in small vug." From Paragon Minerals. Very small.

Pseudobrookite. Nickenicher Weinberg, Nickenich, Pellenz, Mayen-Koblenz District, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. "Vuggy volcanic rock with one large vug lined with white to colorless coarsely crystalline mineral, probably quartz. Vug contains several crystals of pseudobrookite, one has s-curve and reaches across the vug. Several others are terminated. [Other pseudobrookite crystals also present on the sample.]" The curved pseudobrookite is quite nice. From Excalibur Mineral. Small.

Pyrite (bar). Yaquina Head Quarry, Agate Beach, Lincoln County, Oregon. "Elongated crystals, some doubly terminated, others twinned in vugs of volcanic rock." From Mineralogical Research. Very small.

Rutile. Hiddenite, Alexander County, North Carolina. "Deep red translucent crystal prisms with smaller crystals twinned on {011}." From Douglas Berndt. Very small.

Sabinaite. Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada. "Colorless crystals in vug of dolomite." From Simkev Minerals. Very small.

Semseyite. Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada. "Micro tabular crystals, striated in small group on matrix." From Simkev Minerals. Very small.

Shannonite. Tonopah-Belmont Mine, Belmont Mountain, Tonopah, Osborn Mining District, Maricopa County, Arizona. "White, satin-luster material resembling whipped cream in vug of rock. Material has a very slight greenish tint probably due to contamination with copper mineral." From David Shannon. Very small.

Straczekite (type locality). North Wilson pit, Union Carbide Mine, Wilson Springs, Garland County, Arkansas. "Greenish-black to black masses, abundant in rock." From David New. Very small.

Thorite and Hematite. Thomas Range, Juab County, Utah. "Two micro crystal plates [of hematite] in granular volcanic rock. Very micro thorite crystals [may be present]." Even of no thorite is present the hematite is quite nice. From David Shannon. Very small.

Titanite. Vulkaneifel District, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. "Small matrix with several sharp red to orange crystals." From Simkev Minerals. Two very small specimens.

Tourmaline. Champion Mine, White Mountain Peak, White Mountains, Mono County, California. "Small mat of colorless acicular crystals on quartzite. Stated to be schorl but may be elbaite (achroite)." A rare species at this classic locality. From David Shannon. Very small.

Wurtzite. Agios Philippos Mine, Kirki Mines, Evros, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. "Has sharp bright yellow micro crystal [which may not be wurtzite]. Immediately adjacent is a dark reddish-orange grain of wurtzite." From Paragon Minerals. Very small.

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