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specimen
Details
ColorsBlack
Origin
Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi
SizeSmall
Dimensions5.2 x 6.0 x 3.6 cm
Species
Description

Very lustrous, jet-black striated crystals of Arfvedsonite measuring to 3.5 cm sit between contrasting crystals of creamy Feldspar from Mount Malosa in the Zomba District of Malawi. The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in East Africa, surrounded by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. Mount Malosa is in the Southern Region of Malawi and its rare earth element-rich minerals occur in alkali pegmatites. Arfvedsonite is a sodium amphibole and in this beautiful miniature forms perfectly developed crystals amongst equally well crystallised creamy-buff Feldspar, probably Orthoclase.