Gormanite with Souzalite (rare) (ex Francesco Bedogne Collection)

Item Description

The area around Rapid Creek is only accessible for a few months in the summer for collecting (it's under snow and ice the rest of the year), and is some of the most treacherous terrain in the world for collecting specimens. This locality is best known for its phosphates, including some of the finest, highly sought after, and best known specimens of Lazulite in the world. This specimen has no Lazulite, but is a lovely display piece featuring beautiful, large, greenish-blue needles or "sprays" or Gormanite associated with tiny fibrous blue-green crystals of the rare phosphate Souzalite with minor golden Siderite on matrix. A GREAT quality display specimen of this classic material with big "tufts" of Gormanite. Valued at $1250. From the worldwide collection of famed Italian mineral collector, field collector and author, Francesco Bedogne of Sondrio, Italy (Collection #1520). Bedogne wrote dozens of articles and several books about the mineralogy of Italian Alpine localities such as Val Bregaglia, Val Masino, Val Codera, Val Spluga, Valtellina and the famous Val Malenco. He was also the founder of the Valtellinese Mineralogical Institute.