Yttrium Oxide Concentrate (extremely rare) (ex David Burgess Collection)

Item Description

Here we have a tremendous rarity in the mineral world. A 5 cm long glass vial containing a concentration of the rare-earth element yttrium (technically yttrium oxide) from the Denison Mine in Elliot Lake area of Ontario, Canada. This locality was an important source of uranium, producing millions of pounds of uranium, which was processed into triuranium octoxide (U3O8). According to the listing on mindat.org, the Denison mining company built a plant to extract yttrium oxide as a by-product from the uranium production. Here we have an incredibly rare sample of this material in the form a soft pinkish-yellow powder. The piece is accompanied by a label from noted rarities dealer, Josef Vajdak (Pequa Rare Minerals) which states that this material is extremely rare to extract and that the abundance of yttrium in the earth's crust is about 1 part in every 5 million. The noted weight on the label is 5.4 grams. An incredibly rare and unique opportunity to pick up something is virtually unseen on the market. A must have for any rarities collector or a fan of rare-earth material. 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.