Strontianite (old classic locality specimen) (ex Kidwell and British Museum Collections)

Item Description

Here we have a wonderful old time historic specimen of Strontianite from the area in Scotland for which the species is named. For reference, the Whitesmith Mine is named after John Whitesmith, who worked at Strontian in the first half of the 1700s. Most of the time, Strontianite is found in white or off-white colored crystals, but the crystals on this specimen are a beautiful vivid green hue! I've seen orange/brown Strontianite crystals from this mine in the past, but this is the first GREEN Strontianite that I can remember having to offer. The piece features a radiating "spray" of prismatic crystals frozen into white Baryte and Calcite matrix. The largest individual Strontianite measures 3.2 cm long. While the crystals are not complete, they are still definable and very good sized for the material. A great specimen for any fan of old UK material. The piece comes from the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974. The pedigree on this piece is increased as it is accompanied by a wonderful old hand-written label from the British Museum.