Ludlamite (good sized crystals) (rare locality)

Item Description

When people think of Ludlamite from Bolivia, they inherently think of the famous Huanuni Mine. In recent years, the Colavi Mine has produced some interesting and unique Ludlamites, that are very different from the specimens from Huanuni. Originally we were told that these Ludlamites were coming out of the Canutillos Mine, and/or the Estano Orcko Mine, which are neighbors to the Colavi Mine, and often these mines are interconnected underground anyway, so it's hard to determine where one mine stops and another starts. This particular piece is a good display specimen of this remarkably rare iron phosphate consisting of excellent, good sized, sharp, blocky, translucent, beautiful green color, monoclinic crystals of Ludlamite with brown rhombic Siderite and Pyrite underneath. The largest Ludlamite crystal measures 1.5 cm long, which is very good sized for the locality. The specimen is in excellent condition and displays wonderfully as you can see from the photos, but it is not 100% pristine, as there are a few minor contacts. There are truly about 5 localities in the world the produce fine crystallized Ludlamite specimens (i.e., Cornwall, Santa Eulalia, Trepca, Blackbird Mine in Idaho), and ALL of them, except for those in Bolivia and now defunct (though Trepca seems to be producing material again now). PLEASE NOTE: These pieces are in very short supply, and we were only able to acquire a handful of pieces, and this is the one of the best specimens of this material that we have to offer. Valued at $2,000 in the inventory, and if you shop around you'll see that even the Bolivian dealers are starting to ask crazy prices for poor quality Ludlamites.