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Otavite

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SMM848157

Otavite

Rare Mineral

Description Tabs

Description
Locality: 
Su Elzu, Ozieri, Sassari Province, Sardinia, Italy
Class: 
Crystals on Matrix
Size Range: 
Small miniature (3-4.5 cm)
Size: 
3 × 3 × 1 cm
Description

Exceptional specimen!

A moltitude of milky and sharp crystals are scattered on more areas of all matrix together with sharp crystals of willemite and some nice twinned cerussite.

The small dump, now removed, of the Su Elzu mine in the past has given some specimens, almost certainly, among the best in the world of this rare cadmium carbonate. An exceptionally rich small-miniature!!

The known mineral species containing cadmium in decisive quantities are to date (Mindat) only 28 excluding greenockite and hawleyite, the others are quite rare the cadmium carbonate otavite is among them. There are only a handful of locations where otavite occurs in well-formed crystals and notable samples have been found in no more than 4 or 5 locations in the world. The small Su Elzu deposit is one of these few and unlike other locations where it is common to find "impure crystals" of calcium or zinc carbonate with percentages of cadmium, all the samples of Su Elzu analyzed were found to be pure cadmium carbonate, therefore otavite.

Not to be missed!

Boxed with Label
Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Otavite

Formula: 
CdCO3
Strunz: 
5.AB.05
Crystal System: 
Hexagonal
Hardness: 
3.5 - 4.0
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region (Oshikoto), Namibia

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