Long time friend and e-Rocks seller Ikram Muhammad has been a source of many interesting and unusual minerals from Pakistan (and Afghanistan) over the years.
He has been involved with the correct identification of minerals and localities both here and on resources like Mindat.
One of his (and mine) favourite localities is Zagi Mountain, not so far from Peshawar the main trading hub for minerals and gems in Pakistan.
Zagi (and its environs) is well known for its well crystallised REE minerals such as bastnaesite-(Ce), xenotime-(Y), parisite-(Ce) and many more, plus super included quartz formations, fluorite and hematite/rutile.
Ikram has just completed the identification Allanite as a "new mineral" from the Thor Gar locality near Zagi.
The mineral is characterised by large black monoclinic crystals on matrix to around 2cm, associated with slightly pink albite.
More work is being undertaken with Phil Belley to identify the REE dominant in the crystals and will be published shortly.
