Phlogopite with Fluorapatite, Calcite

Unknown Owner

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Large lustrous thick crystals of phlogopite measuring to 4.0 cm in size on matrix with massive calcite and fluorapatite. In good condition and choice for the species. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video and dates to the very early 20th century.Templeton, located in western Quebec within the Outaouais region, lies within the Central Metasedimentary Belt of the Grenville Province. The local geology is characterized by Precambrian metamorphic rocks, including marbles, gneisses, and pyroxenites, which were subjected to intense heat and pressure during the Grenville Orogeny approximately one billion years ago. Hydrothermal activity and subsequent metamorphism led to the formation of distinct calcite vein-dykes rich in calcium, phosphorus, and fluorine. Historically, Templeton Township became a bustling mining district in the late nineteenth century, particularly from 1878 to 1892, when numerous operations like the Jackson Rae Mine extracted large quantities of apatite for the early North American fertilizer industry. When cheaper sedimentary phosphate deposits in Florida made Canadian apatite mining uneconomic, the local mines shifted focus to extracting phlogopite mica, which was heavily utilized for electrical insulation throughout the first half of the twentieth century.Arthur Kusche was a German mineral dealer based in Munich, active during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Operating alongside other prominent contemporary Munich dealers like Wilhelm Maucher, Kusche acquired and sold regional European minerals as well as specimens from major global discoveries of the era, such as early strikes at the Tsumeb mine in Namibia and classic Italian localities. Mineral specimens bearing his distinctive, elegant printed labels are preserved in notable museum and private collections worldwide.