Bustamite (large crystal!)

Item Description

Bustamite is an uncommon calcium manganese silicate species, and without question the finest examples ever found are those from Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia. The species is fairly diverse from this area, as I've seen crystal that range from red to reddish-brown, red-orange, salmon-pink, white and even lilac. Typically a good-sized Bustamite is a few cm from this area, but this piece hosts a whopping 9.0 cm(!) crystal, with fairly sharp, well-formed faces along with good waxy luster and a fine termination, sitting aesthetically on Calcite matrix with a bit of associated Galena. The lower portion of the crystal is in complete, presumable where it either grew against the pocket wall, or another Bustamite underground. The color is a deep mahogany, which glistens when rotated in the light. I can't remember having a larger individual crystal of Bustamite to offer from Broken Hill in the auctions, and the fact that it's complete and terminated is a big deal. If you collect minerals from the prolific locality, or you're just a fan of impressive display specimens of lesser-seen minerals, this is a fantastic piece to add to your collection. It's hard to put a fair market value on a piece like this because it's notably large for the material, and I really don't have anything to compare it to, but I would easily put it in the $3,500-$4,500 range retail for what it is.