RARE16J-18
Henmilite with Olshanskyite and Calcite
Fuka mine, Fuka, Bicchu-cho, Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture, Chugoku Region, Honshu Island, Japan
Miniature, 3.0 x 2.7 x 1.7 cm
SOLD
Henmilite is an exceptionally rare and very beautiful calcium copper boro-hydroxide found at the Fuka mine in Japan, the type and only locality for the species. This piece is arguably the best thumbnail specimen and possibly the most aesthetic example of the species that we have seen available! This little jewel has well over a dozen, well-formed, lustrous, transparent to translucent, indigo blue crystals to 5mm (large for the species!) that are strikingly set on a contrasting stark white fine-grained olshanskyite and calcite matrix. For added color, some of the henmilite crystals exhibit a patchy turquoise-blue coating of an unknown mineral. The mine produced minimal amounts of the mineral historically and the best have come from modern finds at this small mine over a decade ago (around 2000 or so) and they have essentially disappeared from the market. This is an exceptionally aesthetic, 3-dimensional piece with large crystals!