$30Median
1Sold (12 mo)
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Betafite
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Betafite is a strange and complex brew of uranium, titanium, and niobium, a member of the Pyrochlore Group of species. Crystals from Madagascar helped define the species and understand the geology of how these complex minerals form; and old specimens might date to the late 1800s and early 1900s when French expeditionary geologists brought hundreds of specimens back to European markets. This looks to be that antique style, although we cannot prove it. This is a huge, floater Betafite crystal with pretty good aesthetics for a "rare earth ugly" and also unusually complete and symmetric for a large crystal. Although not from exactly the type locality mine for the species, this is from the same area and the same pegmatite deposit and formed in the same manner. From the Smale collection, and I must have purchased this from him the first time back in the 1990s, as his old label (Steve and Clara) still accompanies it.
Product details
SpeciesBetafite
SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions5.1 x 4.3 x 3.1 cm
Listed on06/22/2025
LocalityMadagascar, Vakinankaratra
SKURARE25-113
Current owner
A
The ArkenstoneFeatured
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