Cassiterite (rare locale) ex Belsky Coll.

Item Description

Cassiterite specimens are extremely rare from Nigeria. MINDAT lists 10 Nigerian localities for cassiterite, but only has 3 photographs. This sharp, textbook, tetragonal crystal has rich brown color and highly lustrous, glassy faces. Scattered areas of golden-amber gemminess are visible under strong light. Complete all-around, the crystal has a very interesting flat-topped termination. The label with the piece says only "Abuja, Nigeria", which is the capital of the country and is certainly not the true locale. Ex Howard Belsky Collection. Howard started as a mineral dealer at age 13 in 1972, became a sophisticated dealer and died tragically at age 28 in 1987. His collection recently became available to us through his family.