Powellite with Stilbite-(Ca)

Item Description

Good crystallized examples of Powellite are fairly rare in the mineral world. India certainly has produced the finest specimens for a few decades, but they have not been nearly as easy to find in recent years. Powellite forms a solid solution series with Scheelite, though Scheelite is much more common in nature. This piece hosts a 2.3 cm sharp, light golden color, pseudo-octahedral crystal of Powellite associated with a pale peach colored blade of Stilbite-Ca, free of matrix. Unfortunately the termination on the main Powellite crystal is contacted, so the piece is not undamaged, but it's still a good representative example of what are certainly the best Powellites in the world. The Powellite fluoresces a bright yellow color under SW UV light.
From the collection of Richard ("Rich") A. Kosnar (1946-2007), the well-known mineral dealer and collector from Colorado, and the namesake for the rare zirconium phosphate, Kosnarite. Rich loved trap rock minerals, and the specimens from the Deccan Trap in India were some of his favorites because of their excellent quality, color and rare associations like Powellite.