Troilite (extremely rare terrestrial occurrence) (ex David Burgess Collection)

Item Description

Troilite is a rare form of stoichiometric iron sulfide (hexagonal iron sulfide), typically found in meteorites. As a matter of fact, according to mindat.org, this is the ONLY species for which the type locality is a meteorite impact site! It is the sulfur analogue of Achávalite, and chemically the iron analogue of Covellite, as they share the same space group. With that said, THIS piece is an extremely rare terrestrial occurrence of Troilite from California and features bronze colored patches of massive Troilite in / on host rock matrix. The piece comes with a label from rarities expert Josef Vajdak who states it's from the Alta Copper Claim, but it's almost certainly from the Alta Mine near Low Divide ( https://www.mindat.org/loc-9810.html ). If you collect sulfides, rarities or unusual minerals with connections to meteorites, do NOT miss out on this one! From the worldwide collection of David Burgess (1951-2016). David was a prolific species collector from Newington, Connecticut, and the namesake for the extremely rare cobalt arsenate species Burgessite, which he discovered.