PANASQUEIRAITE with Ferberite Arsenopyrite and Quartz - image 1
PANASQUEIRAITE with Ferberite Arsenopyrite and Quartz - image 2
specimen video

PANASQUEIRAITE with Ferberite Arsenopyrite and Quartz

Unknown Owner
Panasqueiraite is an extremely rare calcium magnesium phosphate hydroxide reported from just a couple of localities, with the Type Locality - after which it is named - being the only place where rich material is seen. This species never forms discrete crystals, only massive areas associated with Ferberite, Arsenopyrite and Quartz. When with this assemblage of species, the orange-brown masses are very distinctive, as displayed in this large miniature specimen. The specimen is sliced and polished on one surface which is typical for this material. The area of Panasqueiraite covers 4.5 x 3.5 cm but with embayments, and continues through the specimen providing views of this rare mineral with natural and cut surfaces. On the polished surface some of the Panasqueiraite shows what appears to be an outer white rim of alteration, but to what is unknown. A very rich example of this extremely rare species. Ex Nick Hawes collection and ex Dr. Rob Bowell.

Product details

Species
Ferberite, ArsenopyriteAbout Ferberite →
SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions8.5 x 5.2 x 1.7 cm
Added on05/20/2026
Locality
Portugal, Panasqueira MinesRegional guide →

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
05/2026Unknown Owner$500.00
—Crystal ClassicsNot disclosed

Learn more

Ferberite
Mineral guide
Learn about Ferberite
iron-rich wolframite with stout blade-like prisms and deep black luster; forms in hydrothermal tin-tungsten deposits; prized on quartz or fluorite.
Ferberite
Regional guide
Ferberite from Panasqueira Mines, Portugal
Panasqueira ferberite is the European classic against which most crystallized ferberite is judged. The best specimens are not merely black ore crystals: they are sculptural, high-luster, metallic to submetallic blades and thick tabular prisms, commonly striated, sometimes doubly terminated, and often set in the distinctive Panasqueira palette of white quartz, pearly muscovite, brown siderite, silvery arsenopyrite, purple to green fluorapatite, cassiterite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, calcite, and dolomite. In a cabinet, a good piece reads immediately as Panasqueira—black, heavy, sharp, and architectural, with the mine’s characteristic quartz-vein openness preserved in miniature.