Garnierite/Nepouite (found in 1800!) ex Robertson Coll.

Item Description

Rare old-time "Garnierite" from New Caledonia, in the Pacific Ocean! This species comes with a very interesting history. Garnierite is the generic name for a rare green nickel ore which has formed as a result of lateritic weathering of ultramafic rocks (serpentinite, dunite, peridotite) (MINDAT). It is the synonym of nepouite, pimelite and willemseite. This is probably nepouite by modern standards of naming: Medium green nepouite with a waxy lustre covers both sides of the miniature serpentine matrix. New Caledonia is the Type Locality for garnierite (discovered in 1864). BUT, the back of Kay Robertson label # 2288 of the specimen acquired from the Scott Williams personal Collection in the 1960s states: "from John Ruskin coll. found by him personally on beach in No. Scotland, abt 1800." Perhaps this is the father of the poet John Ruskin, or more likely found by the poet himself - also a mineral collector - but with the date transmitted wrongly as he was born in 1819 and became a mineral collector after his birth, as most of us do...Another Robertson label with the piece states the same thing with more detail (together it seems there were two specimens, one minor and lost in handling, as we found both of the labels with this single specimen in the box when we unpacked the collection). Regardless, this is a very old example of this rare species with a most fascinating history! Kay sadly recently passed away in 2020 but left us a legacy of these fascinating historic minerals she saved for so long.