Kainosite-(Y)

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Hopffeldgraben (Hopffeld gorge) in the Obersulzbach Valley, Hohe Tauern, Salzburg, Austria is a renowned European locality for the rare hydrated calcium REE silicate carbonate species Kainosite-(Y). Known since at least the 1980s, crystals are always small - anything above 5 mm being considered enormous - but are exceptional in their perfection in form. This superb miniature specimen from the amazing systematic collection of brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021) features three 2 mm wide octahedral/bipyramidal Kainosite-(Y) crystals of a rich resinous custard orange-yellow colour. These crystals stand out nicely against a backdrop of finely crystallized colourless Albite with a few other smaller Kainosite-(Y) crystals in residence too.