Metaswitzerite (rare)

Item Description

This is a very rarely seen, large cabinet-sized specimen of Metaswitzerite from the famed Foote Mine in North Carolina. This important historic locality is one of the great phosphate sites in the United States, and it's the type locality for Metaswitzerite (a manganese phosphate), named in honor of George S. Switzer, the former Curator of Minerals at the Smithsonian Institution. Originally, the mineral was named Switzerite, but the entry on mindat.org states, "Switzerite rapidly and irreversibly dehydrates in air within minutes to Metaswitzerite which contains only 4 water molecules per formula unit. All "switzerites" in collections should be considered metaswitzerites". Here we have a fantastic example of this rare classic material featuring groups comprising of sharp, well-formed, pinkish-brown bladed crystals measuring up to a few mm, but the largest aggregate measures 2.0 cm across, sitting on Albite and Quartz matrix. These are well-formed, euhedral CRYSTALS of Metaswitzerite, not massive "smears" or micro aggregates. A must-have for any fan of rare minerals, specimens from the Foote Mine, or minerals from the type locality.
From the collection Jack Eaker (whose label says the specimen was identified by Jason Smith).