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These specimens come from a remarkable single pocket, perhaps from the early 2000's, and are distinct to my eye from previous finds of this species. I bought the entire contents of the pocket (under 100 pieces), so far as I know, from which we selected about 3 dozen of the best pieces to offer here. I am told that this pocket was actually found some years ago and hoarded, to see if more would follow. Obviously, nothing like this has come out since, and the combination of habit, size, color, and association remains VERY distinct from past finds of this material!
NOTE ON SPECIES DESIGNATIONS: Ettringite forms a chemically-related series with Charlesite and Sturmanite, and to be precise each of these crystals is certainly going to be a zoned mix of the species. In particular, these crystals almost all exhibit a clear inner core which is colorless, indicating possible species zoning from the center to the outer layers. From prior experience and investigations, I have been told that generally the crystal cores are ettringite and charlesite, and the lemon-yellow colored portion is mainly ettringite. Most brighter yellow specimens are thus classified, though sturmanite may indeed be present to some extent as well. Although XRAY must be done to distinguish with 100% certitude, most sturmanite has a different (more squat and disclike) crystal habit, and these crystals resemble in form pieces most often labelled as "ettringite." So, pending laborious analysis I will attempt to get worked up while at the Tucson show in collaboration with a University, I am labelling these as Ettringite: with ettringite and charlesite cores, for sale before the show
NOTE: Nearly all specimens have identical color in person, unless otherwise stated. The color is a fairly strong lemony-yellow hue, classic for the species but here combined with unusual translucency which causes them to look a little more pale in the photos, than they do in person.
ETTR-1001 - Ettringite - $ 3000 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 7.2 x 5.6 x 4 cm
This specimen features a 5 x 2 x 1.7 cm ettringite crystal sticking up from a diagonal shard of matrix. The crystal is a pleasing lemon-yellow color, translucent, completely formed and free of damage. It has an unusual shimmering surface sheen to it, as do most of these. It is very rare to find large ettringites on matrix, particularly with such good display, from past finds (mostly in the 1980s).Like most pieces from this pocket, it exhibits an unusually good tapering of the barrel-shaped termination whereas past finds tended to have a more blocky barrel-shape all the way to the termination. The matrix is a black manganese-rich ore with a thin soft Oyelite (perhaps with Bultfonteinite) deposition on its front side. It is speckled at the lower-left with sparkling micro-hausmannite crystals.
ETTR-1002 - Ettringite on Oyelite - $ 2000 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 8 x 6 x 4.5
This specimen features a 5.8-cm-long, doubly-terminated ettringite crystal perched on a rolling carpet of soft white matrix. The crystal is lemon-yellow color, translucent, completely formed and free of damage - although it has an odd etched or rough area near the bottom termination (that seems a natural growth asymmetry). It has an unusual shimmering surface sheen to it, as do most of these. It is very rare to find large ettringites on matrix, particularly with such good display, from past finds (mostly in the 1980s).The matrix is a manganese-rich ore completely covered with a blanket of soft Oyelite (perhaps with Bultfonteinite) deposition on its front side. It is covered on the backside with sparkling micro-hausmannite crystals.
ETTR-1003 - Ettringite on Oyelite - $ 1900 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 6.5 x 3.2 x 2.4 cm
This ethereal nicely-sized specimen features a 6-cm-long, doubly-terminated ettringite crystal perched on a small knoll of soft white matrix. The crystal is a soft lemon-yellow color, translucent, and complete all around except for a small, shallow natural contact in the upper-right on one face. It is stark and dramatic, as it rises from the well-trimmed matrix! It has an unusual shimmering surface sheen to it, as do most of these. It is very rare to find large ettringites on matrix, particularly with such good display, from past finds (mostly in the 1980s). The matrix is a manganese-rich ore completely covered with a blanket of soft Oyelite (perhaps with Bultfonteinite) deposition on its front side. It is accented on the backside with sparkling micro-hausmannite crystals.
ETTR-1004 - Ettringite on Oyelite - $ 750 SOLD Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 6 x 5 x 3.5 cm
A beautiful matrix piece, rare for the species, with 5 crystals to 3 cm perched against a rolling carpet of soft white matrix. The crystals are a soft, almost-lemon-yellow color, translucent, completely formed and free of damage. They have an unusual shimmering surface sheen , attractive. The matrix is a manganese-rich ore completely covered with a blanket of soft Oyelite (perhaps with Bultfonteinite) deposition on its front side. It is covered on the backside with sparkling micro-hausmannite crystals.
ETTR-1005 - Ettringite on Oyelite - $ 1350 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 7.7 x 5.2 x 4 cm
A beautiful matrix piece, rare for the species, with a pinwheel-shaped, 3-dimensional cluster of crystals perfectly centered on matrix. Very aesthetic! They are to 2.5 cm long, starkly contrasting against a rolling carpet of soft white Oyelite (perhaps with Bultfonteinite). The crystals are a pastel almost-lemon-yellow color, translucent, completely formed and free of damage. They have an unusual shimmering surface sheen , very attractive. The matrix is a manganese-rich ore completely covered with a blanket of soft Oyelite (perhaps with Bultfonteinite) deposition on its front side. It is covered on the backside with sparkling micro-hausmannite crystals.
ETTR-1006 - Ettringite on Oyelite - $ 2100 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa cabinet, 13.7 x 7.5 x 7 cm
One of the larger good matrix specimens, this is a beautiful matrix piece, rare for the species, with a 3-dimensional cluster of crystals perfectly centered on matrix. Very aesthetic! The crystals are to 3.2 cm long, and the cluster overall is 5.2 cm across. All are starkly contrasting against a rolling carpet of soft white Oyelite. The crystals are a soft, lemon-yellow color, translucent, completely formed and free of damage. They have an unusual shimmering surface sheen , very attractive. The matrix is a manganese-rich ore completely covered on the front by a blanket of soft Oyelite deposition on its front side. It is covered on the backside with BRILLIANTLY sparkling carpet of thousands of micro-hausmannite crystals and a few little metallic hematites. This combination overall is vastly different from anything else I have seen for the species, and quite unusual in any case.
ETTR-1007 - Ettringite on Oyelite with Barite - $ 1250 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa cabinet, 13 x 10 x 5 cm
This large matrix cabinet piece features a perfectly situated , doubly-terminated, 5-cm-long crystal perched atop. It is uncanny, how it just hangs there so fully exposed, as if placed gently down, and now anchored by the soft Oyelite and showing both terminations. The crystal is a soft lemon-yellow color, translucent, and complete all around. The matrix is gorgeous and unusual: This is a VERY heavy specimen, as the rolling carpet of soft Oyelite hides a hematite-rich matrix underneath. On the backside , it is nearly covered with sharp bladed barite crystals atop the hematite, unusual for this locality.
ETTR-1008 - Ettringite - $ 4800 SOLD Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa cabinet, 10 x 8 x 5 cm
This specimen is a robust and colorful piece featuring a 5 x 2 x 2 cm central crystal, 3-dimensional and shooting straight up out of the cluster like a rocket! That crystal is VERY lemon-yellow, translucent, and just plain od in the combination of form and symmetry. It is complete all around, and perfectly terminated, save only a slight natural contact spot to matrix on the right edge face. Other peripheral crystals are not all complete, but add to the overall color and serve to prop up the central crystal. One seldom sees such rich examples of this species. This is a very 3-dimensional piece which has a curving, thin matrix plate as its backbone, from which a cluster of ettringite straddles the center and floats out at the viewer. I think it is a miracle it came out intact. It is actually a floater, complete all around, and with small hematite and hausmannite crystals on the back, all nestled in soft rolling white Oyelite
ETTR-1009 - Ettringite - $ 450 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa miniature, 4 x 4 x 3 cm
This piece features a 3 x 1 x 1 cm, perfectly formed and doubly-terminated ettringite hanging precariously (but securely!) on a matrix shard. Aesthetic and unusual!
ETTR-1010 - Ettringite - $ 2400 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa miniature, 5.2 x 3 x 2.5 cm
This is a robust, space-filling miniature that exemplifies the qualities of this find: translucency, shimmering surface lustre, and unusual tapering form. It has a rich lemon yellow color, graded to the pastel and soft tones but still very yellow. The crystal cluster is complete all around, except a slight matrix bit attached to the back edge. It is hard to explain or convey in pictures, but there is a certain ethereal quality to these specimens that makes the crystals look "soft" and unusual compared to most other large crystalline species. And, this is a rather large example for this species.
ETTR-1011 - Ettringite - $ 1800 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 6 x 1.2 x 1 cm
This is a single, superb, complete crystal from this new pocket. It exemplifies the qualities of this find: translucency, shimmering surface lustre, and unusual tapering form. It has a pastel lemon-yellow color. It is hard to explain or convey in pictures, but there is a certain ethereal quality to these specimens that makes the crystals look "soft" and unusual compared to most other large crystalline species. And, this is a rather large example for this species.
ETTR-1013 - Ettringite - $ 950 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa miniature, 5 x 2.3 x 2 cm
This is a single, fat crystal from this new pocket. It exemplifies the qualities of this find: translucency, shimmering surface lustre, and unusual tapering form. It has a pastel lemon-yellow color. It is hard to explain or convey in pictures, but there is a certain ethereal quality to these specimens that makes the crystals look "soft" and unusual compared to most other large crystalline species. And, this is a rather large example for this species. Unlike some others here, it seems to have a slight brown tinge to it on a few edges, from perhaps iron staining.
ETTR-1014 - Ettringite - $ 1800 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 6.1 x 2.6 x 2.4 cm
This is a single, fat , elongated crystal from this new pocket. It is nicely perched on just a small shard of matrix that serves to stand it up vertically with flair. It exemplifies the qualities of this find: translucency, shimmering surface lustre, and unusual tapering form. It has a pastel lemon-yellow color. It is hard to explain or convey in pictures, but there is a certain ethereal quality to these specimens that makes the crystals look "soft" and unusual compared to most other large crystalline species. And, this is a rather large example for this species. The photo makes it look foreshortened in order to show the termination well. In person, it is rather more vertical in appearance.
ETTR-1015 - Ettringite - $ 950 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa miniature, 5.2 x 2.3 x 2 cm
This is a single, fat crystal from this new pocket. It exemplifies the qualities of this find: translucency, shimmering surface lustre, and unusual tapering form. It has a pastel lemon-yellow color. It is hard to explain or convey in pictures, but there is a certain ethereal quality to these specimens that makes the crystals look "soft" and unusual compared to most other large crystalline species. And, this is a rather large example for this species in any case
ETTR-1016 - Ettringite - $ 1800 Nchwaning Mines, Kalahari Fields, South Africa small cabinet, 6.2 x 2.4 x 2 cm
This is a single, fat ,elongated crystal from this new pocket. It exemplifies the qualities of this find: translucency, shimmering surface lustre, and unusual tapering form. It has a pastel lemon-yellow color. It is hard to explain or convey in pictures, but there is a certain ethereal quality to these specimens that makes the crystals look "soft" and unusual compared to most other large crystalline species. And, this is a rather large example for this species in any case. It is certainly beautiful and dramatic in a case!
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