Libethenite (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A hard to find specimen of the rare copper hydroxy phosphate from the Nchanga Mine (Open Pit) in Zambia. Please note that the accompanying label erroneously places this locality in Zaire instead of Zambia. With that said, mineral specimens of any variety are rare from this lesser known copper and cobalt mine. This attractive thumbnail sized plate is richly covered with fields of sparkly, dark green, partially translucent, dipyramidal Libethenite crystals. I am told this is from a mid-1900s find, via a former mine geologists collection. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#9511). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Velt" November-December 2017).