Tantalite-(Mn) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A nice small minaiture specimen of rarely seen Tanatlite-(Mn) (formerly Manganotantalite) from Galileia featuring a few sharp, well-formed, blocky crystals that range in color from a rich reddish hue to virtually black. With a bit of backlighting, the piece shows good color is a section of the main crystals. Minor associated Quartz and Albite can be seen on the piece as well. The piece does have some contacts here and there, but there are still a few good crystals that can be seen. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#10304). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).