Catapleiite with Aegirine and Analcime

$7,500.00

$40.00 shipping
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Tucson, Arizona, USA

7,543 for sale·132 sold

Catapleiite is a well known mineral from Mont Saint-Hilaire but very rarely does it occur in specimens of this remarkable size. The overall dimensions of this Catapleiite crystal are 4.8 x 4.7 cm, forming a modified hexagonal plate with overgrowths of black Aegirine and milky white Analcime. Catapleiite is a hydrated sodium-zirconium silicate commonly found throughout the complex Mont Saint-Hilaire pluton which is now classified as an alkaline gabbro-peralkaline syenite. This remarkable quarry, officially still referred to as the Poudrette quarry among mineralogists, now has 437 valid recorded mineral species and is type locality to 71 of these! Although Catapleiite is commonly distributed throughout the quarry, it typically ranges from micro-crystals up to about 1 cm, hence this specimen is exceptional.