Cryolite (old classic material) (ex David Burgess Collection)

Item Description

The finest and most well-known specimens of Cryolite are those from the famous extinct Type Locality in Greenland. This small cabinet piece is a rich, solid mass of chalky white Cryolite. The piece is not fully crystallized, but I can see tiny crystalline faces in certain spots on the surface. This rare Na-Al halide was originally used as aluminum ore and later in the electrolytic processing of the aluminum ore bauxite. A highly representative example of this rare species. Old material, mostly from the 1800s and early 1900s. From the worldwide collection of David Burgess (1951-2016). David was a prolific species collector from Newington, Connecticut, and the namesake for the extremely rare cobalt arsenate species Burgessite, which he discovered.