FERBERITE
Specimen fer-4
$ 105.00Dims: 1.7 x 1.6 x 1.1" (4.3 x 4.1 x 2.8 cm)
Wt: 2.33 oz. (66.2 g)
Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, Hunan Province, China
This beautiful thumbnail specimen consists of a single Ferberite crystal that is partially coated with a crust of crystalline calcite. The crystal has dimensions of 1.6 x 1.4 x 0.4" (4.1 x 3.6 x 1.0 cm) and is in excellent condition, being mostly protected by the calcite. It shows a good monoclinic form, and though only one of the larger faces is completely visible, the crystal's general shape is easily visible. It has a black coloration and a bright, adamantine luster. The calcite that coats it has a bright, white color and a pearly-to-vitreous luster, and consists of crystals ranging in size from less than 1 mm to 0.2" (5 mm) in diameter. They have an excellent "nail-head" form, and many of the larger ones show visible phantoming. Many tiny chalcopyrite nodules are scattered on top of the calcite, and there are a few prismatic quartz crystals visible, too. They have good hexagonal form and are intergrown side by side, so as to appear to be one crystal with two terminations. It is also double-terminated, so three terminations are visible! Several tiny partial books of muscovite are embedded in the one clear face of the Ferberite crystal, and there are a few shards of other Ferberites that are partially covered by the calcite on the other side.