Whitlockite

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This huge hexagonal whitlockite crystal is one of the largest known of the species, a rare phosphate. This mineral occurs at its apex in fine sharp crystals only from a few remote locations in the Yukon, of which this is the most well known. All the best pieces, so far as we know, were collected by Rod Tyson and his partners in various expeditions over the decades, by helicopter, to this remote region. One notable find was in 2005 when he went back alone, and found a small pocket with the largest and most translucent crystals yet seen, which he brought to Tucson and Alex shortly chose this for his rare species suite in the Schauss collection. This is a particularly large crystal in exceptional condition. Rod Tyson collected it in 2005 on the west bank of the river a bit apart from the usual site they had hit in the past. Originally labeled bobdownsonite, this was for a time thought to be a new species with similar composition, and the species name bounced back and forth for a while before settling back to whitlockite. Laszlo Kupi photo.