Ferberite on Arsenopyrite

Item Description

This is a nice display specimen of Ferberite from Bolivia and a very hard to find matrix specimen to boot! This species was sometimes previously referred to as "Wolframite", which was supposed to be an intermediary species between Ferberite and Hubnerite but has since been discredited. The piece features several sharp, lustrous, aesthetic, jet-black, tabular crystals measuring up to 2.1 cm of Ferberite forming beautiful "flower"-like crystal group on nicely crystallized Arsenopyrite matrix. There are only a few minor spots of damage on the specimen, and for the overall appeal the roughness does not detract. These Bolivian Ferberites are often underrated and stand up very well against any other Ferberites from China or Panasqueira. Keep in mind that less than 5% of all the Ferberites from Tasna are found on matrix since this is a weighty and brittle species, and due to crude mining methods, are usually destroed in the pocket. The retail price on this piece is $500.