VANADINITE
Specimen van-29
$ 27.00Dims: 2.7 x 1.9 x 1.7" (6.9 x 4.8 x 4.3 cm)
Wt: 4.34 oz. (123.1 g)
Puzzler Mine, Castle Dome, Yuma County, Arizona, U.S.A.
The mottled brown host rock of this specimen is partly covered with a crust made up of hundreds of tiny Vanadinite crystals. These crystals do not exceed 0.1" (3 mm) along any dimension, but are generally in excellent condition. Their hexagonal prismatic form is extremely odd- all have the standard hexagonal cross-section, but most of the crystals are somewhat curved, so that their prism lengths bend. The longest crystal curve the most, arcing over 90 degrees! All have a pale gray-brown color and the bright, nearly adamantine luster that Vanadinite often possesses. The host rock looks like a hard shale and is partly covered with dark brown dendrites of what is probably an iron oxide.