Gormanite (good sized "balls")

Item Description

A notably eye-catching and very good sized pair of radiating / spherical Gormanite from Linopolis. Typically, people associate this very rare phosphate with localities in the Yukon Territory, like Rapid Creek. Honestly, the Brazilian pieces are much rarer in my experience, and when they're good, they're REALLY good, arguably better than the best from Canada. This specimen shows the classic rich blue-green color, but my favorite aspect is not the impressive size, but the fact that the "balls" are actually COMPLETE on the front, and not just acicular "tufts" or broken groups on matrix. I would compare it to Wavellite "balls" from Arkansas where it's rare to find complete spheres, and one typically only sees broken sections. If you flip the piece over, you can see the needle-like growth of the crystals where the piece detached from the matrix, but rarely does one encounter a single complete spherical aggregate like this, let alone TWO on one specimen! This is a heck of a Gormanite in my mind, and if you collect phosphates, rarities, Brazilian minerals or just really good crystallized examples of species, don't pass this one up.