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Identity HelpHeavy as Death Metal at 16 RPM

4th Oct 2019 04:38 UTCMatt Ciranni

08435840016032479911651.jpg

I need your guys help with this one. 

I bought it at a Gem Faire from a dealer in Pakistan (Skardu) minerals and he had the usual expected assortment of Skarduvian aquamarines, topazes, and a whole suite of minerals from that area.  So I assume this one is from there as well.  His prices were wholesale and relatively low, and he offered some really good deals.

I love all of those gemstones but this particular stone caught my eye...after I picked it up.  This thing is DENSE.  As in, it feels every bit as dense as galena and cassiterite- both of which I am familiar with.  It's considerable heft is it's most noticable feature- So as I picked it up I was inclined to think, "Ah, Cassiterite."

The dealer didn't know for sure what he had.  He simply shrugged and said, "Cassiterite huh, Well, that works for me I guess.  I'll give you a deal, 60 bucks for both that and the $40 Axinite you were eyeballing earlier" (I got both.  Other stone's identity was easy to confirm.)

So, I would be tempted to go with that ID- it doesn't scratch with a steel pick so it's hard enough, but a few things to question:  The crystals are rather distinctive- rectangular prisms here, mainly.  Cassiterite crystals tend usually to be more angled and pyramidal.  And these here are distinctively color toned- ruby red in the center and dark brown on the outside.  So I'm not so sure- it could be another really dense mineral, some kind of ColTan mineral perhaps, or something more sinister (I hope not, since I don't have a Geiger counter to test for that.)

Your thoughts?  Again, location is from Pakistan, hardness about 5-6-ish, specific gravity about that of cassiterite or galena, i.e. very heavy for it's size.  Is it cassiterite or some other mineral? 

4th Oct 2019 04:41 UTCMatt Ciranni

03513830016032479922828.jpg
Here is a side view of it showing the color zoning of the crystals- sorry but I don't know how to upload more than 1 photo at a time anymore (there is a way to do this still, I assume?)

4th Oct 2019 04:50 UTCRuss Rizzo Expert

Hi Matt,

Looks like you've got yourself a tantalite crystal.  Possibly tantalite-(Mn). 
Although I have never seen a reddish-colored one from Pakistan before.  Could possibly be from Afghanistan.  In my experience the Pakistani-Afghani dealers tend to say that whatever they're trying to sell is from "their" country.

Russ

4th Oct 2019 10:19 UTCJosé Zendrera 🌟 Manager

08910220017071509602972.jpg
I agree wit Russ, it really looks like Tantalite-Mn from Afghanistan, maybe from Paprok.

Me yes I've seen red tantalite from Pakistan but never in this size, just small crystals like this one:


5th Oct 2019 19:32 UTCMatt Neuzil Expert

At first glance I thought it looked like tantalize. Very nice.

6th Oct 2019 20:38 UTCMatt Ciranni

Thanks for the tips, guys... I am actually really pleased that it turned out to be that.  Tantalite is one of those minerals that you just don't often encounter at rock/gem shows, or at gem and crystal shops.  So it's cool to have something distinctively uncommon and really, really cool.  It is a cool specimen and I definitely feel like I got a really good deal on it.

9th Oct 2019 13:15 UTCHarold Moritz 🌟 Expert

Yep, looks and sounds like a columbite-tantalite series crystal, very nice.
 
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