Wavellite (classic material) (ex Al Kidwell Collection)

Item Description

Arkansas is best known for a few mineral species, and Wavellite is certainly near the top of the list. The classic green color and larger display specimens sets them apart from most other Wavellites around the world. Not only is Wavellite a signature mineral for the entire state, but it is synonymous with the name Henry de Linde, so much so that some of the best Wavellite localities literally bear his name. This piece is from the Henry de Linde #2 Mine and features many beautiful, soft green colored radiating "balls" of Wavellite measuring up to 1.3 cm across sitting in Big Fork chert matrix. There are a few contacted Wavellites on the specimen, which reveal attractive yellow and blue-green hues internally, showing how the colors changed as the "balls" grew larger. My favorite aspect of the piece is the fact that the vast majority of the "balls" are complete and intact, not broken in half like so many you'll see from this area. It's an important distinction because a lot of people don't realize that the broken spheres are actually damaged. Classic material, and made all the more valuable and desirable by the fact that it came from this classic locality. 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.