Nepouite/Garnierite (RARE locale)

Item Description

Nepouite is a rare Ni-Mg-silicate. Garnierite is the generic name for a rare green nickel ore which has formed as a result of lateritic weathering of ultramafic rocks (serpentinite, dunite, peridotite) (MINDAT). It is the synonym of nepouite, pimelite and willemseite. Lustrous green crusts and fields of juicy botryoids cover all sides of the sculptural blocky small cabinet matrix. This is VERY RARE material from this old nickel and copper mine that was discovered in the mid-1700s and worked until 1889. "The article of Marques de Sá & Leal Gomes (2010) reviews the mineralogy of these mines (numerous species having recently been discovered, based on an exhaustive sampling on the dumps)." (MINDAT). Ex Vasco Trancoso Collection.