Hydroxylapatite on Tarbuttite (rare and beautiful)

Item Description

The Skorpion Mine in Namibia is a fairly new operation, starting in 2000 as a major zinc ore producer, but it also is the source of some attractive zinc-bearing species such as Tarbuttite. Typically this species is not terribly attractive, as the crystals are often white / colorless, but the specimens from this locality have a gorgeous soft green hue. Now it should be noted that I have seen some of these specimens labeled as being pseudomorphs of Apatite replacing Tarbuttite, but analysis has shown that they are overgrown by a layer of Hydroxylapatite, but the original green Tarbuttite is still present underneath. With that said, this cabinet is filled with superb, quality attractive, triangular shaped crystals measuring up to 7 mm long sitting on a small amount matrix. Tiny colorless gemmy crystals of Hemimorphite are also present on the specimen. The piece is in excellent shape with no major damage on the top / display side.