CROCOITE
Specimen cro-6
$ 95.00Dims: 3.0 x 2.2 x 2.0" (7.6 x 5.6 x 5.1 cm)
Wt: 6.53 oz. (184.0 g)
Red Lead Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia
This small hand specimen consists of several clusters of intersecting Crocoite needles that fill the hollows of the limonite host rock of this specimen. The largest of these crystals is an incomplete section that appears to have been broken and partly healed. It is in two pieces that are separated by a thin wall of limonite or goethite and has dimensions of 1.0 x 0.4 x 0.3" (2.5 x 1.0 x 0.8 cm). The other crystals do not exceed 0.8" (2.0 cm) in length, and most of them are no more than 2 or 3 mm thick. Many of the crystals are noticeably damaged and broken, but most of this damage appears to have occurred before the specimen was mined, as the breakage surfaces do not have the bright pearly luster that would signify fresh damage. Some of these surfaces also appear to be partly healed. All have the classic bright reddish-orange coloration and pearly luster of Crocoite, and though some of the thinnest crystals are dimly transparent, almost all are merely translucent. There are many small and sometimes broken crystals scattered about the host rock, along with a few hollows that contain small clusters of intact crystals (see the close-up image).