Magnetite (excellent rare locality specimen)

Item Description

A wonderful display quality full cabinet sized specimen of this elusive material. This is certainly one of the best examples we've had to offer from this interesting locality in a long time. The El Laco Deposit is essentially a large field of solid iron ore (the entry on mindat.org states it measures roughly 8 x 4 km!), but several minerals have been found there, including these attractive Magnetites. This piece is filled with excellent, sharp, well-formed, dark grey-black colored octahedral crystals measuring up to 1.7 cm across, which have a slightly reddish hue on the surface due to oxidation. The majority of the crystals are in fine shape, with the only major roughness seen around the edges where it was separated from the pocket wall. Magnetite is a common mineral, but it's rarely found in cabinet sized display pieces like this from any locality. This particular specimen was mined roughly 20 years ago (early 2000s), and you're not likely to find another like it anywhere on the market right now.
Ex Brian Kosnar collection.