Fresnoite (very rare)

Item Description

Fresnoite is an incredibly rare barium titanium silicate that is found in just over a dozen localities in the world. Arguably the best known specimens are those from the Junnila Mine in San Benito County, California. This thumbnail sized specimen features a 5 mm crystal of bright orange-yellow Fresnoite sititng on Quartz with a bit of attached matrix. The crystal is not completely damage free, but there are defined crystal faces that can be seen with the naked eye, though the piece is best seen through a loupe. If you collect rarities, this is a great opportunity to pick up a piece of this notably COLORFUL species from the best known discovery of the material. The Junnila Mine started as a Benitoite recovery operation, actually turned out to have rather poor benitoite production, but in a few historic spurts yielded these superb fresnoite crystals instead as a consolation prize.