NATIVE Tellurium

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The element Tellurium (Te), atomic number 52, is a silver-white metalloid or semimetal which occurs very rarely in nature in its unaltered, elemental form. This splendid specimen is from the Emperor mine in northern Viti Levu, the largest island (I think) in the Republic of Fiji, an archipelago of more than 330 islands. This gold mine is widely recognised for its specimens of well crystallised Native Tellurium. The archipelago is formed from volcanic rocks dating back around 150 million years. Several perfect intergrown crystal groups are scattered over micro-crystals of drusy, mid grey Quartz crystals covering a rhyolitic matrix containing Chalcopyrite. The clusters of Native Tellurium crystals range from sub-millimetre to 2 mm across and are bright whitish silver with a bright metallic lustre. A charming small miniature and certainly a lovely addition to a collector suite of elements.\n