Vauxite with Paravauxite and Childrenite (new find)

Item Description

This particular piece is a remarkable, very well crystallized, ridiculously rare, specimen consisting of small, bladed, beautiful blue color, radiating aggregates of Vauxite coated by with tabular blades of greenish-white Paravauxite on minor clay (probably decomposed Allophane) matrix. There are also some very tiny spots of brownish-tan Childrenite on the specimen as well. There is a very small (less than 0.5 mm) crystal group of unidentified strong pinkish-red color bladed crystals on the specimen as well - possibly Rumerite? I have photographed the crystals under the microscope to show that they are truly terminated crystals and not just a mass. It is very difficult to obtain any specimens of these incredibly beautiful phosphates and to find all two "Vauxite" species together on one piece is fantastic. This piece is from the type locality for Vauxite and Paravauxite which were originally discovered along the Contacto and San Jose veins in this mine and first described by Sam Gordon and Mark Bandy. It is so unbelievably rare to find good size, beautifully crystallized specimens of Vauxite and Paravauxite together from Bolivia like this one.