Microlite Group

Item Description

A wonderfully RICH specimen of classic Microlite crystals from a find in 1980s at the famous Ipê mine in Brazil. The piece hosts hundreds of tiny (it's called Microlite for a reason) sparkling, strong golden-orange colored crystals that can be seen all over. The piece has a somewhat layered formation to the matrix, but the piece is notably DENSE for the size, so perhaps the crystals grew on a partial crystal of a niobate or tantalate species like Columbite or Tantalite. I realize the crystals are small, but there are so many of them to be seen! Obviously it's best to view the piece under magnification, but they do measure up to 2.5 mm, so you can see some with the naked eye NUMBER of Microlites that can be seen. The quality is very good for the species, as you will see there are many textbooks Microlites on this specimen. A cool piece for anybody looking to pick up an example of one of the less common oxides out there. It is important to note that this piece is labeled as Microlite Group because Microlite is no longer a valid species. It's possible that this piece could be Fluorcalciomicrolite, but it hasn't been analyzed.