Montebrasite (rare - uncommon locale)

Item Description

A nifty miniature of a plate and angled wall of pearlescent tabular montebrasite crystals from this obscure Minas Gerais locale. The jagged terminations on the wall really set this piece off. Montebrasite is a rare Li-Al phosphate, that looks like beryllonite, a rare Na-Be phosphate. The collector label names this as beryllonite (if it is, it is VERY rare from this locale), but it is most likely montebrasite. Still, this is a rare and excellent example of the species from this locale.