Henmilite (incredibly rare)

Item Description

Henmilite is an incredibly rare calcium copper hydroxy borate mineral, rarely seen for sale on the market. The species was named after Prof. Kitinosuke Henmi along with his daughter Dr. Chiyoko Henmi. The father and daughter duo both worked for Okayama University, and were recognized for their time spent describing minerals from the Fuka Mine. Somewhere around the early 2000s, there was a discovery that provided collectors with some of the most beautiful examples of the species seen. These specimens come from the Fuka Mine which is the type locality (and ONLY locality) for Henmilite, and are found in an interesting skarn deposit that has produced many rare minerals species, e.g., Bicchulite, Fukalite and Numanoite. The pseudorhombic (triclinic) Henmilite crystals with their intense purplish blue color set against the stark white Olshanskyite matrix makes for a wonderful and and eye catching appearance. This piece features crystals up to 3 mm, which is by no means small for the species. We photographed the crystals with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate their quality. From what I've been told, collecting is only limited to individuals from the university who have permission to go into the mineral producing area, and very little is available on the market now. Do not miss out on this one, as we do not have another to offer in the auctions right now.