Karibibite (very rare) on Löllingite

Item Description

Karibibite is a very rare iron arsenate species, which was first discovered in the Karibib Constituency of the Erongo Region of Namibia, but some of the finest examples are those from the Drâa-Tafilalet Region of Morocco. This particular specimen is listed as coming from the Bou Azzer Mine, but it seems this might be a misnomer, and it could actually be from the Oumlil Mine. With that said, Karibibite, according to the entry on mindat.org, forms exclusively as an alteration/oxidation of the Löllingite, which is evident on this piece, as the matrix is a solid mass of lead-grey Löllingite, but one edge features dozens of micro "sprays" of golden to orange colored Karibibite. We have photographed the piece with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality, and while the "sprays" are tiny (less than 1 mm), they are beautiful up close.
From the collection of Vasco Trancoso, a medical doctor and prominent mineral collector from near Lisbon, Portugal (https://www.mindat.org/user-11954.html). He assembled his mineral collection over the course of 60 years, and built a fine worldwide display collection that we recently purchased. This piece is pictured on mindat.org at https://www.mindat.org/photo-233832.html, and the accompanying label states that it was from the collection of Pierre Clavell.