Hureaulite with Rockbridgeite and Jahnsite in Triphylite and Quartz - image 1

Hureaulite with Rockbridgeite and Jahnsite in Triphylite and Quartz - image 2

Hureaulite with Rockbridgeite and Jahnsite in Triphylite and Quartz - image 4

Hureaulite with Rockbridgeite and Jahnsite in Triphylite and Quartz

$2,750.00

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This is a large and rich example of an attractive secondary pegmatite phosphate species, Hureaulite, from the Bendada Mine in Portugal. We almost never see such rich examples from this old locality; and in fact on first glance I thought this was a modern Brazilian piece! This piece features a sparkling, curved array of sharp, rich pink Hureaulite crystals to 5 mm intimately associated with dark green, tightly grouped, radial sprays of Rockbridgeite to 1 cm; and as a bonus has scattered, dark brown, 2 mm of Jahnsite (or a Jahnsite Group mineral) perched on the Hureaulite crystals. All of these secondary phosphates occur within a partially to totally altered medium green chunk of Triphylite, the primary pegmatite phosphate mineral. The Triphylite is associated with some milky, translucent, massive Quartz, and so we see essentially the whole pocket here, and a story in mineralogy: this is therefore not only a great specimen of Hureaulite and Rockbridgeite but is also an important example showing the hydrothermal alteration of the primary pegmatite phosphate, Triphylite, that was responsible for forming the secondary phosphates (Hureaulite and Rockbridgeite). There is a very minor amount of bluish Vivianite found along the cleavage traces of the Triphylite. We purchased this from a private Portuguese collector who indicated that he had self-collected this long ago.