Ludlockite

I feel this is one of the greatest Tsumeb thumbnails I have ever had the honor to handle. One of the rarest beautiful species you could possibly obtain, is a specimen of this material from the first and best find of 1968. Tsumeb is the TYPE LOCALITY of Ludlockite, a rare lead-iron arsenite that was first found in a single erratic specimen found in 1968 on the 30th level of Tsumeb, in its deepest oxidation zone filled with all kinds of bizarre (and apparently very cool) mineralogy. This is often referred to today as the "germanium levels" of the mine. The thickly intergrown, hair-like crystals and deep, rich copper color are visually stunning, and this freestanding cluster is quite beautiful. A world-class, high level thumbnail that has to be as good as you can possibly get for a thumbnail of the species to my mind. This pocket produced the best, and there were not many. Charlie Key (after whom it is named for his middle name) told me that he had them all at the time (including this one), and most of the pocket resides in the British Museum with the rest being long since sold and dispersed. This piece ended up in Mexico with Senator and Dr. Miguel Romero, in his noted collection. Few people realize he had some worldwide suites in his private office museum in Teohuacan, Mexico; in addition to his famous Mexican origin collection of minerals. This was one of those "lost treasures" which has been in storage in Mexico for 20 years or so since his death, until now (the family just let some of the rest of his collection sell). For more info on this noted collector: http://minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=792

Unknown Owner

Product details

Species

Ludlockite

SizeThumbnail

Dimensions2.3 x 1.9 x 0.8 cm

Locality

Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb

Added on10/23/2024

Comments

Known provenance

2024/08