Cafarsite

Unknown Owner

A very fine example of the rare calcium iron arsenite mineral Cafarsite from its type locality of the Wanni Glacier in the Scherbadung Area of the Kriegalp Valley, off the Binn Valley, Wallis in Switzerland. Two black to very dark chocolate brown Cafarsite crystals with light chocolate-brown crazed surface patterns display well on the surface of a platy block of foliated micro-Albite crystals. The Cafarsite crystals measure approximately 14 x 13 x 10 mm and 10 x 9 x 7 mm and take the form of octahedral crystals modified by the cube, rhombohedron and pyritohedron forms. The larger of the two Cafarsite crystals has a distinct crack traversing the lower half of one octahedral face, but on examination this appears stable and is very unlikely to propagate. An excellent specimen of this very rare species from the Wanni Glacier in Switzerland.