Carrollite - image 1

Carrollite

Unknown Owner
Help improve this recordNo owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.
Sign in to contribute
Killer metallic mirror-faced cuboctahedral xtl. From: Christophe Gobin (Dubai, UAE), February 6, 2018, at the Westward Look Fine Mineral Show. According to Christophe, of some 300 Carrollites he has seen over the years, including the best specimens found between 2001 and 2004, this was by far the finest TN specimen. This specimen came from one of the two pockets opened in September 2016 and February 2017, as well as small pockets discovered through the summer of 2017, after which no new finds were made (Ref: The Mineralogical Record, 2018; 49: 466). Any coating of mica and talc is where the xtl had made contact, after which it partially re-healed before the silicate coating formed. He referred to it as a “killer, killer”. Photo: Jeff Scovil (2018-02-0242). Featured in the masterclass book on thumbnail collecting, Refined Elegance (Mineralogical Record, Nov. 2022) on page 115.

Product details

SpeciesCarrollite
SizeMiniature
Dimensions2.7 x 2.5 x 2.0 cm
Added on10/23/2024
Publications
  • Mineralogical Record Special Issue: Refined Elegance page 117

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
12/2024Unknown OwnerNot disclosed
The ArkenstoneNot disclosed

Learn more

Mineral guide
Learn about Carrollite
cobalt-rich thiospinel with razor-sharp spinel-octahedral crystals, mirror luster, on contrasting carbonate matrices from the DRC and Bou Azzer.
Carrollite
Regional guide
Carrollite from Kamoya South II Mine, DR Congo
Kamoya South II is the modern benchmark locality for carrollite. Its best specimens have the look that made the species famous among contemporary sulfide collectors: brilliant silver to steel-gray crystals, often mirror-faced, with crisp spinel-family geometry set into pale calcite or dolomitic carbonate. The visual effect is unusually clean for a sulfide—hard, metallic geometry against light matrix—and the finest examples have enough reflectivity that the faces flash like cut metal when turned under a lamp.