Fluoro-richterite

Item Description

Here we have a great display quality specimen of Fluoro-richterite (formerly Fluorrichterite) from the Wilberforce area near Bancroft, Ontario, which is one of the best known localities for specimens of the species. This piece is a classic example of this well-known material featuring a predominant, sharp, lustrous, well-formed, dark brown prism, with a bit of attached Feldspar matrix on the back. If you look closely, you can see the crystal is actually doubly-terminated, though the bottom termination is partial, but still clearly crystallized. A very nice display piece of this amphibole species (there are actually six individual valid species of "Richterite"), as it's not just a solitary prism like many I've seen from the area. The piece is showy and great quality for the species, certainly old material from this well known calcium metamorphic deposit. The piece is not repaired, which is an added bonus, as many of them are glued back together.
From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974 ( https://www.mindat.org/photo-326405.html ).