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Donnayite-(Y) with Pyrite on Calcite

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A superb, large (1.2 cm long), 'conical' crystal of Donnayite-(Y) from Mont Saint-Hilaire - the Type Locality. The crystal is on Calcite matrix and has a partial thin film of Pyrite. This really is a significant specimen of this unusual hydrated sodium calcium strontium yttrium carbonate species, not only from MSH, but on a world scale. The Donnayite-(Y) crystal shows the classic MSH form: a pseudohexagonal tapering prism, like a space capsule, or even an inverted road cone, and has a second, smaller crystal to one side. If you are new to this locality, it is one of those rare mineralogical wonders of nature, with a recorded 439 species and is type locality to a staggering 73 species. The quarry is situated in Rouville County in Quebec, Canada, a little due east of Montreal. For many years two quarries worked adjacent to one another, the Poudrette and De-Mix, only separated by an unexcavated demarcation wall. Once this was mined out, the two quarries amalgamated, so it is now the convention to name the whole quarry as Poudrette. It is not known which quarry this specimen came out of at the time of mining (i.e. either Poudrette or De-Mix), so it is simply given as Mont Saint-Hilaire. A super specimen, probably from the 1980s, or 1990s.