DINGDAOHENGITE-(Ce) on Aegirine

Help improve this record

No owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

Described in 2008, the complex and extremely rare, rare earth element (REE)-bearing iron titanium silicate Dingdaohengite-(Ce) was found in the famous Bayan Obo deposit, Inner Mongolia, China - the world's largest REE deposit. A few years later and the first free-standing crystals of this species were found in Malawi in Africa and reported as coming from Mount Malosa. There is some suspicion that the source is actually at Mulanje Massif (Mlange Massif) in Southern Region, Malawi, but more research needs to be done to investigate this claim. Either way, the crystals from Malawi are the world's best and by a considerable margin. This lovely very large thumbnail specimen even shows that REE-bearing minerals can be attractive, with at least six, dark brown, resinous, well-formed bladed Dingdaohengite-(Ce) crystals straddling a glossy black prismatic crystal of Aegirine. These Dingdaohengite-(Ce) crystals reach an impressive (for the species) 1.1 cm in length, but for this specimen it is more the perfection of having so many perfectly formed and damage-free crystals aesthetically perched, allowing their full shape to be enjoyed. This specimen is mounted upon a small clear acryllic block for display, but can easily be removed using acetone. It is from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).