Apatite (rare locality) (239.40 grams)

Item Description

Here we have a very rare crystal of Apatite (presumably Fluorapatite) from a recent discovery in 2018 at a most obscure locale in the former Orissa State (now called Odisha) in Eastern India. This stout, sharp, lustrous, very well-formed, thick, prismatic hexagonal murky green color crystal is the best example that we've had to offer in the auctions. It shows textbook form with beautiful pyramidal modifications along the termination. It's fairly gemmy when backlit. Although it's not 100% complete on the back, the front side is in amazingly good condition. A great piece to add to any gem crystal suite, an Apatite collection or a cool oddity to add to any Indian mineral collection. This piece was discovered in a lamproite field. Lamproite-group rocks are dark-colored magmatic rocks enriched in K and Mg and hypabyssal or effusive in origin. Lamproites are peralkaline ultrapotassic Mg-enriched magmatic rocks with all hallmarks of ultrabasic rocks such as elevated Cr and Ni contents (Mitchell 1991). These rocks can contain Apatite and / or Spinel. Specimen weight is 239.40 grams. Valued at $3,500 in the inventory for size, quality and the fact that it's one of the most impressive examples of the material that we've seen.