Hot purple fluorapatite crystals to a large 1.7 cm, are laying flat on this matrix specimen from the famous Foote Mine in North Carolina. These are very rare, especially in good color and with luster! This is, in fact, quite unusual as large display plate, with so much coverage. It is from the collection of Jack Eaker, mine assayist for many decades at this important economic mine. He held the collection (mostly stored under his bed) for many years, keeping it quiet and enjoying it for himself. The mine is no longer producing specimens and such pieces, other than from his collection, are unavailable on market. In fact, he is almost certainly single handedly responsible for most of what we have seen, as he worked there since the 1960s and personally collected much of all the specimens we have ever seen from this mine throughout the 1970s. Jack Walter Eaker was the chief chemist at the Foote Lithium Company Mine for close to 30 years in total.
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