Ettringite

Unknown Owner

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This specimen features a 5 x 2 x 1.7 cm ettringite crystal sticking up from a diagonal shard of matrix. The crystal is a pleasing lemon-yellow color, translucent, completely formed and free of damage. It has an unusual shimmering surface sheen to it, as do most of these. It is very rare to find large ettringites on matrix, particularly with such good display, from past finds (mostly in the 1980s) .Like most pieces from this pocket, it exhibits an unusually good tapering of the barrel-shaped termination whereas past finds tended to have a more blocky barrel-shape all the way to the termination. The matrix is a black manganese-rich ore with a thin soft Oyelite (perhaps with Bultfonteinite) deposition on its front side. It is speckled at the lower-left with sparkling micro-hausmannite crystals.