Bright lustrous sharply formed crystal of rutile, this double terminated, and attached to some pyrophyllite matrix. In very good condition. Choice thumbnail for this American classic. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.Graves Mountain in Lincoln County, Georgia, is a world-renowned mineral locality famous for its exceptional, lustrous rutile crystals embedded within a rugged kyanite-quartz schist of the Carolina slate belt. Formed through complex regional metamorphism of ancient volcanic and sedimentary deposits, the site became a major industrial source for kyanite during the mid-to-late twentieth century, operated by companies such as Combustion Engineering. While large-scale commercial mining unfortunately destroyed many classic mineral pockets, Graves Mountain has long remained a legendary destination for mineral collectors seeking world-class rutile, lazulite, and iridescent iron oxides.
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