Apachite with Ruizite (incredibly rare) (ex Matioli)

Item Description

Apachite is a ridiculously rare hydrated copper silicate that is only found in three places in the world, and Ruizite is an incredibly rare hydrated calcium manganese hydroxy silicate that is only found in six places in the world. Apachite was named after the native Apache tribe that lived in the area, and Ruizite was named after a mineralogist and mineral collector named Joe Ruiz of Mammoth, Arizona. This piece just happens to be from the type locality for BOTH SPECIES, the Christmas Mine in Arizona. This piece was mined in the late 1970s and features beautiful blue patches of semi spherical Apahcite with minor soft orange color "tufts" of Ruizite which are associated with minor Fluorapophyllite-(K) on matrix. It's certainly a micro specimen, and we have photographed the specimen with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality and enhance the detail. From the collection of Paolo Matioli