This is a remarkable specimen of yofortierite from anywhere. Altogether, the yofortierite spans ca 5 cm, with individual sprays ca 6 mm in diameter. In addition, the cavity has one of the best sérandite aggregates (ca 7 mm) that I have seen from this quarry. There are also some thick-tabular orange eudialyte crystal aggregates, a smectite group mineral that resembles zakharovite in appearance (but it is clearly not that mineral), plus some fairly good natrolite crystals. The total length of the cavity is ca 9+ cm.
The yofortierite was verified (to the extent possible) via qualitative EDS on another, similar, specimen. (See the “Analysis” tab. There is a “significant” Mg peak. To be certain that this is yofortierite, rather than palygorskite, would require expensive WDS and perhaps even single crystal XRD – not practical.)
The full-view photo shows the entire cavity.
The next photo (FOV 5 x 2.5 cm) shows the yofortierite part of the cavity. The best sérandite group can be seen sticking up into the cavity on the right side. There is another, similar, sérandite group, loose in the cavity, behind the group that is visible. Another large sérandite aggregate can be seen on the left, but that one is damaged. There are a few other, sérandite crystals in another part of the cavity.
The next pair of photos (FOV 4.6 x 7.0 mm) is a close-up of the best sérandite. For the locality, this is an outstanding group. The other good aggregate is loose in the cavity below the one shown in the photo, but it is not visible here.
The next photo (FOV 3.8 x 2.4 mm) shows another good sérandite crystal (3.7 mm). It is well-terminated, but grew nearly wall-to-wall. There are other sérandite crystals in the cavity but they either grew wall-to-wall or are damaged.
The next photo (FOV 4.2 x 6.9 mm) is a close-up of one of the Y/T sprays. The tip of the loose sérandite crsystal can be seen in the upper right corner. It is a good crystal – perhaps suitable for a micromount.
The next photo (FOV 6.8 x 4.5 mm) is a close-up of another yofortierite spray, showing a “smectite” core 3.75 mm in diameter. Growing on the “smectite” are unidentified white “flowers” 0.3 mm in diameter.
The last photo (FOV 3.7 x 2.5 mm) shows one of the better eudialyte aggregates. Individual crystals are ca 0.75 mm.
Note that the only eudialyte group mineral reported from this quarry is eudialyte itself. It comes in a wide range of colors. While places such as nearby MSH may have larger crystals of eudialyte, they also have other members of the eudialyte group. It is impossible to distinguish among them by color or other visual clues, so verified specimens of "plain" eudialyte are actually quite rare. Specimens from the Saint-Amable sill are a good opportunity to get "real" eudialyte without the expense of WDS, etc.
The downside to this remarkable specimen is that it is fairly heavy (ca 1.5 soccer balls) and probably too risky to trim any further. (The matrix is very tough and does not split predictably.) Because the best sérandite grows freely on one edge of the cavity, it may be delicate. Therefore, the specimen will be shipped double-boxed . For USA destinations, I will use Priority Mail (medium box – no weight limit). The quoted rate includes double boxing, packing, and Paypal fees. The quoted rates for other destinations also include double boxing, etc., and are good up to a total weight of 32 oz (907 g). The specimen weighs 22.4 oz. That leaves a bit less than 10 oz for the packing and for perhaps a few other, not too large, specimens.
