A cute miniature featuring a good cluster of väyrynenite crystals accented by elbaite tourmaline crystals from a complex pegmatite at Chhappu, Pakistan. Viitaniemiite is a complex sodium-calcium-manganese-aluminum phosphate and is a secondary phosphate formed by the alteration of primary pegmatite phosphates like triphylite-lithiophilite and amblygonite-montebrasite by late stage pegmatite fluids. This nice looking pegmatite combo features half a dozen, off-white, translucent, prismatic viitaniemiite crystals with a satin luster from 2.5 to 3.6 cm in size accented by numerous, almost lime-green, translucent to transparent, lightly striated prisms of mostly singly terminated tourmaline crystals scattered around the base, at the bottom and a few on top. The viitaniemiite crystals are in very good condition with most of them singly terminated and a couple are close to doubly terminated. A fine and dramatic combination miniature example from this 2024 find. A very good miniature example from this 2024 find! Formerly very rare, these are huge crystals of such a seldom seen species.
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