Ludlamite (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 very good specimen of this remarkably rare iron phosphate consisting of good, sharp, somewhat blocky, translucent, beautiful green color, monoclinic crystals of Ludlamite with a few deep inky blue crystals of Vivianite sitting atop brown crystallized Siderite on Pyrite matrix. The largest Ludlamite crystal measures 8 mm across. 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. PLEASE NOTE: These pieces are in very short supply, and we were only able to acquire a handful of pieces, so if you want one, don't miss out becuase we only have a few to offer.