Atacamite "flower"

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A fine and beautiful floating pinwheel of Atacamite composed of essentially a single, radial divergent spray of super lustrous, bright green crystals. Individual crystals in this largely two-dimensional spray average about 1.5 cm in length. From the Type Locality region - the La Farola Mine in the Atacama Region of Chile. Definitely a competition miniature for the species! It is unusual in that it is a floater with radiating crystals, instead of the typical "flat spray" on an ugly rock matrix. It is so beyond the norm, I was shocked to see it. Rock Currier went there himself, and surely collected this himself on one of his trips (we safely assume). It is just a stunning miniature in its own right, but so good compared to anything else of the type. Note, it is fragile, a thin plate. However, it can also be safely handled. Rock Currier's notes say he acquired this specimen in 1980 and listed this as "exceptional" quality in his catalog, which was not something he said very often.