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Rittmannite Kastningite & Kingsmountite

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BCK625478

Rittmannite Kastningite & Kingsmountite

Type Locality

Description Tabs

Description
Locality: 
Foote Mine, Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States of America
Class: 
Crystals on Matrix
Size Range: 
Small cabinet (7-10 cm)
Size: 
8.4 × 5.8 × 1.8 cm
Description

You are bidding on a large sample with the whole top of the specimen loaded with numerous tan clusters of rittmannite (or possibly whiteite-CaMnMn) with a few white balls of kingsmountite (possibly a new species, the Mn analogue) and a few bladed balls of colorless kastningite crystals. There are also some large areas of botryoidal, near colorless, very high aluminum-bearing eosphorite. This was a very unusual find and this is probably the best rittmannite sample ever found at the Foote Mine, except the other side of the fracture which is in my permanent Foote collection. Truly exceptional rarity from this locality. This material will be under further scientific study soon to determine the nature of the high manganese kingsmountite and the very strange eosphorite. Clusters are up to about 1mm in size. Rare and exceptional material. 

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Rittmannite

Formula: 
{(Mn2+,Ca)}{Mn2+}{(Fe2+,Mn2+,Mg)2}{(Al,Fe3+)2}(PO4)4(OH)2·8H2O
Strunz: 
8.DH.15
Hardness: 
3.5
Type Locality: 
Cubos-Mesquitela-Mangualde area, Mangualde, Viseu District, Portugal

Kastningite

Formula: 
(Mn2+,Fe2+,Mg)Al2(PO4)2(OH)2·8H2O
Strunz: 
8.DC.30
Crystal System: 
Triclinic
Hardness: 
1.0 - 2.0
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Silbergrube, Waidhaus, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany

Kingsmountite

Formula: 
Ca4(Fe2+,Mn2+)Al4(PO4)6(OH)4·12H2O
Strunz: 
8.DH.25
Hardness: 
2.5
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Foote Lithium Co. Mine (Foote Mine), Kings Mountain District, Cleveland Co., North Carolina, USA

Seller Information

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