W58-9D0Thortveitite Sc₂Si₂O₇

Landsverk 3 Feldspar Quarry, Landsverk, Evje og Hornnes, Agder, Norway

crystal fragment of thortveitite size 3.5 x 12mm in feltspar

was lying on the surface right hand side going into the quarry

found at this location 10/9-10 by me

now in my micro collection

XKJ-AMFCatapleiite Na₂Zr(Si₃O₉)·2H₂O

Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada

RRUFF Project Specimen ID: R060198

Locality: Mont Saint-Hilaire, Rouville County, Quebec, Canada
Source: Royal Ontario Museum M49592

Tan colored pseudohexagonal tabular crystals

EM9-R5JGadolinite-(Y) Y₂Fe²⁺Be₂Si₂O₁₀

Frikstad 03 Feldspar Quarry, Frikstad, Iveland, Agder, Norway

Dimensions: 8.2 cm x 7.1 cm x 5.2 cm

8.2 x 7.1 x 5.2 cm. A huge gadolinite crystal from one of the old classic locales for this species, and from the John Sinkankas collection. It weighs 583 grams and is a giant crystal - the big ones seldom maintain such sharp form. Sinkankas, a renowned author and collector, noted its value as $125 in 1968 (he purchased for a bargain price of $20 in 1965 - but that was a lot of money then, too, for an ugly rock!), and wrote that it is "Very large, sharp, and exceptional" on his original label, an index card in his hand which accompanies the piece. I obtained this directly from John at his home in San Diego in about 1998, and sold it to collector Bob Nowakowski, who had a large suite of exceptional crystals of the Rare Earth Elements species. He held it until recently.

R50-VREHydroxykenopyrochlore (◻,Ce,Ba)₂(Nb,Ti)₂O₆(OH,F) , Manganese Oxides

Tatarskii Massif, Tatarka Range, Enisei Range, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

Dimensions: 7 cm x 7 cm x 6 cm

7x7x6 cm cubo-octahedral crystal of Pyrochlore with tile-like surface of cube side. Abundant imprints of acicular Aegirine or Richterite crystals are well visible. Black spots are crusts of unidentified Manganese Oxides. Weight of the crystal is 532 g and its radioactivity is 18 μR/h. Analytical data available at the daughter photo. Collected by Lev Suzdal'tsev in middle of 90th. Pavel M. Kartashov collection and scan.

XV7-G2WCatapleiite Na₂Zr(Si₃O₉)·2H₂O

Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada

A 2.2 cm crystal group of Catapleite. C. Stefano specimen #3055.

NCU-YE6Pyrochlore Supergroup (Var: Betafite (of Hogarth 1977)) (Ca,Na,U)₂(Ti, Nb,Ta)₂O₆Z(OH) , Calcite CaCO₃

Silver Crater Mine, Faraday Township, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada

Dimensions: 2.1 cm x 2 cm x 1.4 cm

2.1 x 2 x 1.4cm crystal of betafite that miraculously survived the collecting process still attached to it's calcite matrix. This specimen measures 5.4cm overall. Betafite crystals from this locality are extremely brittle and most split or shatter during removal from the calcite which surrounds them. This one survived in remarkably good condition.

85W-PJ8Thorite (Var: Orangite) Th(SiO₄)

Langesundsfjorden, Norway

A specimen of orangey-brown, metamict thorite of the variety formerly known as "orangite" from the classic locality of Langesundfjorden, Norway. Specimen is 8cm wide. This specimen was dates from the 1850's or earlier, and is accompanied by an original hand-written paper label from that era. (A photo of the label is attached as a child photo.)

GJH-6R9Fergusonite-(Y) YNbO₄

Ytterby, Resarö, Vaxholm, Stockholm County, Sweden

Prismatic crystals of Fergusonite in a matrix of Feldspar, field of view 80 mm.

MYH-NRYFluorite CaF₂

Canon City Mining District, Fremont County, Colorado, USA

Dimensions: 8.5 cm x 7.7 cm x 4.6 cm

Specimen size 8.5 x 7.7 x 4.6 cm.
See two other images.
Christian Bracke Collection.

Y4H-6FWCatapleiite Na₂Zr(Si₃O₉)·2H₂O

Langesundsfjorden, Norway

Close up of a Catapleiite showing the exsolving network of a hydrothermal (?) alteration, whole crystal about 20 mm in diameter, collection C.&H. Schäfer