Moving mountains for you
Switch currency

Current Live Auctions

Current Live Fixed Price Sales

Artinite

Views:
Watches:
QRI676668

Artinite

Defunct locality
Rare Mineral

Description Tabs

Description
Locality: 
Rio del Bastardo, Roccamurata, Parma Province, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Class: 
Crystals on Matrix
Size Range: 
Small miniature (3-4.5 cm)
Size: 
3.6 × 3.7 × 3.5 cm
Description

A small miniature of candid white aragonite with artinite needles from the Rio del Bastardo ophiolitic breccia, in Northern Italy. This is a rather thick open vein specimen of acicular crystals radially distributed alongside the matrix. Aragonite and artinite are grown together. On a central speck, half a dozen bowties proudly stand out. Artinite has a very good silky luster and its radial aggregates are in great conditions. Aragonite is candid white and displays sharp needle crystals.
Excellent quality for the locality, which is now defunct. Unlike most specimens coming from this find, this was not washed with water. In fact, water treatment dims the lustre of the crystals, and the vast majority of the material that has circulated has almost no lustre.
Personally self collected before the closure of the site, it is the original material find described in the article on the Rivista Mineralogica Italiana 1/2012.

It will be shipped in a plastic box (hot glued) for additional protection. Account for minimal detachments during shipping.

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Artinite

Formula: 
Mg2(CO3)(OH)2·3H2O
Strunz: 
5.DA.10
Crystal System: 
Monoclinic
Hardness: 
2.5
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Dossi di Franscia (Franscia Mine; Franscia Mines; Franscia Quarries), Campo Franscia (Franscia), Lanzada, Lanterna Valley, Malenco Valley, Valtellina, Sondrio Province, Lombardy, Italy

Seller Information

Payment options: offline, paypal_wpp, paypal_wps

Seller's terms and conditions

Shipping within 15 days after payment received, unless specified/agreed otherwise.

Combined shipping is possible, please inquire for details.