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ex. John White
A fine elongated crystal spray of metavauxite, with a few sharp, individually more robust paravauxite crystals sticking out to the side. This looks great from the front, but has a little damage in the back to the termination, part of which is not present, hence the low price. But it LOOKS like a much more pricey thumbnail example, of this beautiful and very rare species. TYPE LOCALE!
21.6 x 9.4 x 5.8 cm. From the new find of 2006, this is undoubtedly one of the most significant and momentous discoveries ever made at this locality. Not since the days of World War II has there been such a remarkable find of this material. These are simply put, some of the largest overall Vauxite specimens in the world, but the greatest aspect of these pieces is two-fold. First, the Vauxite itself is associated with micro fibrous "strands" of the super rare phosphate Metavauxite, plus tabular micro crystals of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite which means that these are just a dream for phosphate collectors. It is incredibly rare to have FOUR individual phosphate species all on one specimen, and the fact that this mine is the TYPE LOCALITY for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite makes it all the better. There are also some small gem Quartz crystals on most of the specimens found as well, which is really a nice touch to these already amazing pieces. The second significant attribute of these specimens is the fact that they formed on a solid Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix, and not crumbly clay (after Allophane) which means that they are much sturdier and allows the pieces to be displayed with ease. Now you must note that despite the sturdy matrix, the crystals themselves are somewhat brittle and must be handled with care. Nonetheless, this is a MAJOR find of these incredibly rare minerals, the likes of which I’ve never seen from Bolivia, or any other world locality. This particular piece is a remarkable, large, very well crystallized, ridiculously rare, specimen consisting of small, bladed, beautiful blue color, radiating aggregates of Vauxite associated with micro fibrous strands of colorless Metavauxite, along with micro tabular blades of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite plus a few scattered gem quality Quartz crystals on firm Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix. I have photographed the Vauxite crystals under high magnification to show that they are truly terminated crystals and not just a blue mass. I have also photographed the Paravauxite and Metavauxite crystals under the microscope. It is very difficult to obtain any specimens of this incredibly beautiful phosphate and to find all three "Vauxites" together on one piece is amazing. This piece is from the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite which was discovered along the Contacto and San Jose veins in this mine and was first described by Sam Gordon and Mark Bandy. It is so unbelievably rare to find good size, beautifully crystallized matrix specimens of Vauxite from Bolivia like this one.
8.0 x 4.5 x 3.4 cm. From the new find of 2006, this is undoubtedly one of the most significant and momentous discoveries ever made at this locality. Not since the days of World War II has there been such a remarkable find of this material. These are simply put, some of the largest overall Vauxite specimens in the world, but the greatest aspect of these pieces is two-fold. First, the Vauxite itself is associated with micro fibrous "strands" of the super rare phosphate Metavauxite, plus tabular micro crystals of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite which means that these are just a dream for phosphate collectors. It is incredibly rare to have FOUR individual phosphate species all on one specimen, and the fact that this mine is the TYPE LOCALITY for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite makes it all the better. There are also some small gem Quartz crystals on most of the specimens found as well, which is really a nice touch to these already amazing pieces. The second significant attribute of these specimens is the fact that they formed on a solid Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix, and not crumbly clay (after Allophane) which means that they are much more sturdy and allows the pieces to be displayed with ease. Now you must note that despite the sturdy matrix, the crystals themselves are somewhat brittle and must be handled with care. Nonetheless, this is a MAJOR find of these incredibly rare minerals, the likes of which I’ve never seen from Bolivia, or any other world locality. This particular piece is a remarkable, very well crystallized, ridiculously rare, specimen consisting of small, bladed, beautiful blue color, radiating aggregates of Vauxite associated with micro fibrous strands of colorless Metavauxite, along with micro tabular blades of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite plus a few scattered gem quality Quartz crystals on firm Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix.
10.0 x 7.0 x 2.3 cm. From the new find of 2006, this is undoubtedly one of the most significant and momentous discoveries ever made at this locality. Not since the days of World War II has there been such a remarkable find of this material. These are simply put, some of the largest overall Vauxite specimens in the world, but the greatest aspect of these pieces is two-fold. First, the Vauxite itself is associated with micro fibrous "strands" of the super rare phosphate Metavauxite, plus tabular micro crystals of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite which means that these are just a dream for phosphate collectors. It is incredibly rare to have FOUR individual phosphate species all on one specimen, and the fact that this mine is the TYPE LOCALITY for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite makes it all the better. There are also some small gem Quartz crystals on most of the specimens found as well, which is really a nice touch to these already amazing pieces. The second significant attribute of these specimens is the fact that they formed on a solid Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix, and not crumbly clay (after Allophane) which means that they are much sturdier and allows the pieces to be displayed with ease. Now you must note that despite the sturdy matrix, the crystals themselves are somewhat brittle and must be handled with care. This particular piece is a remarkable, large, very well crystallized, ridiculously rare, specimen consisting of small, bladed, beautiful blue color, radiating aggregates of Vauxite associated with micro fibrous strands of colorless Metavauxite, along with micro tabular blades of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite plus a few scattered gem quality Quartz crystals on firm Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix. It is very difficult to obtain any specimens of this incredibly beautiful phosphate and to find all three "Vauxites" together on one piece is amazing. This piece is from the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite which was discovered along the Contacto and San Jose veins in this mine and was first described by Sam Gordon and Mark Bandy. It is so unbelievably rare to find good size, beautifully crystallized matrix specimens of Vauxite from Bolivia like this one.
9.8 x 5.1 x 2.1 cm. From the new find of 2006, this is undoubtedly one of the most significant and momentous discoveries ever made at this locality. Not since the days of World War II has there been such a remarkable find of this material. These are simply put, some of the largest overall Vauxite specimens in the world, but the greatest aspect of these pieces is two-fold. First, the Vauxite itself is associated with micro fibrous "strands" of the super rare phosphate Metavauxite, plus tabular micro crystals of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite which means that these are just a dream for phosphate collectors. It is incredibly rare to have FOUR individual phosphate species all on one specimen, and the fact that this mine is the TYPE LOCALITY for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite makes it all the better. There are also some small gem Quartz crystals on most of the specimen found as well, which is really a nice touch to these already amazing pieces. The second significant attribute of these specimens is the fact that they formed on a solid Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix, and not crumbly clay (after Allophane) which means that they are much sturdier and allows the pieces to be displayed with ease. Now you must note that despite the sturdy matrix, the crystals themselves are somewhat brittle and must be handled with care. Nonetheless, this is a MAJOR find of these incredibly rare minerals, the likes of which I’ve never seen from Bolivia, or any other world locality. This particular piece is a remarkable, very well crystallized, ridiculously rare, specimen consisting of small, bladed, beautiful blue color, radiating aggregates of Vauxite associated with micro fibrous strands of colorless Metavauxite, along with micro tabular blades of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite plus a few scattered gem quality Quartz crystals on firm Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix. It is very difficult to obtain any specimens of this incredibly beautiful phosphate and to find all three "Vauxites" together on one piece is amazing. This piece is from the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite which was discovered along the Contacto and San Jose veins in this mine and was first described by Sam Gordon and Mark Bandy. It is so unbelievably rare to find good size matrix specimens of Vauxite.
4.2 x 1.2 x 1.1 cm. Certainly the rarest member of the "vauxite" family, this is an hydrated, iron, aluminum, phosphate hydroxide. Metavauxite was found at its best by Mark Bandy in the mid-1900s and so far as I know nothing of this magnitude has come out since, plus it’s comparable to a specimen from his collection in the LA County Musuem. It is simply off the charts for the species, both colorful and simply HUGE. The crystal is lustrous and translucent with a pleasing pastel green color.
16.5 x 12.4 x 4.0 cm. This old-time matrix specimen is covered by tannish, spear shaped metavauxite crystals, to .5 cm in length. metavauxite is a rare hydrated iron, aluminum phosphate. There are also a few crystals of sheaf like, pastel-green paravauxite, to one 1.0 cm in length, also a rare hydrated iron, aluminum, phosphate. Ex. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and William Vaux Collections.
6.3 x 4.1 x 1.6 cm. This is a fine specimen. The Vauxite itself is associated with micro fibrous "strands" of the super rare phosphate Metavauxite, plus tabular micro crystals of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite.
6.7 x 4.0 x 1.7 cm. From the find of 2006. This particular piece is a remarkable, very well crystallized, rare specimen consisting of small, bladed, beautiful blue color, radiating aggregates of Vauxite associated with micro fibrous strands of colorless Metavauxite, along with micro tabular blades of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite plus a few scattered Quartz crystals on firm Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix. This piece is from the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite which was discovered along the Contacto and San Jose veins in this mine and was first described by Sam Gordon and Mark Bandy.
2.9 x 1.5 x 1.2 cm. Metavauxite is the rarest of the related vauxite family members: paravauxite; metavauxite; and vauxite. It is a monoclinic dimorph of the already rare paravauxite, with clearly different crystal habit when seen in person. This is an aesthetic cluster of sharp crystals, from the type locality - surely, given its history in this collection, collected before or close to the time it was being identified as a new species. Ex. Philadelphia Academy of Sciences Collection.
3.1 x 1.6 x 1.1 cm. Metavauxite is the rarest of the related vauxite family members: paravauxite; metavauxite; and vauxite. It is a monoclinic dimorph of the already rare paravauxite, with clearly different crystal habit when seen in person. This is an aesthetic cluster of sharp crystals, from the type locality - surely, given its history in this collection, collected before or close to the time it was being identified as a new species. Tim Blackwood Collection, ex. Philadelphia Academy of Sciences Collection.
1.9 x 1.4 x 1.1 cm. Metavauxite is the rarest of the related vauxite family members: paravauxite; metavauxite; and vauxite. It is a monoclinic dimorph of the already rare paravauxite, with clearly different crystal habit when seen in person. This is an aesthetic cluster of sharp crystals, from the type locality - surely, given its history in this collection, collected before or close to the time it was being identified as a new species. Ex. Philadelphia Academy of Sciences Collection.
9.1 x 6.0 x 2.3 cm. From the find of 2006, this is undoubtedly one of the most significant discoveries ever made at this locality. These are some of the largest overall Vauxite specimens in the world, but the greatest aspect of these pieces is two-fold. First, the Vauxite itself is associated with micro fibrous "strands" of the super rare phosphate Metavauxite, plus tabular micro crystals of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite. It is incredibly rare to have four individual phosphate species all on one specimen, and the fact that this mine is the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite makes it all the better. There are also some small gem Quartz crystals on most of the specimens found as well. The second significant attribute of these specimens is the fact that they formed on a solid Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix and not crumbly clay (possibly after Allophane). This particular piece is a remarkable, large, very well crystallized, rare specimen consisting of small, bladed, beautiful blue color, radiating aggregates of Vauxite associated with micro fibrous strands of colorless Metavauxite, along with micro tabular blades of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite plus a few scattered gem quality Quartz crystals on firm Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix. This piece is from the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite which was discovered along the Contacto and San Jose veins in this mine and was first described by Sam Gordon and Mark Bandy.
Metavauxite needles associated with minor vauxite. 2.6 x 1.1 x 1 cm
18.3 x 11.4 x 3.3 cm. From the new find of 2006, this is undoubtedly one of the most significant discoveries ever made at this locality. Not since the days of World War II has there been such a remarkable find of this material. These are some of the largest overall Vauxite specimens in the world, but the greatest aspect of these pieces is two-fold. First, the Vauxite itself is associated with micro fibrous "strands" of the very rare phosphate Metavauxite, plus tabular microcrystals of Paravauxite and small whitish spheres of Wavellite. It is incredibly rare to have four individual phosphate species all on one specimen, and the fact that this mine is the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite makes it all the better. There are also some small gem Quartz crystals on most of the specimens found as well. The second significant attribute of these specimens is the fact that they formed on a solid Quartz-Diorite porphyry matrix, and not crumbly clay (after Allophane) which means that they are much more sturdy. This piece is from the type locality for Vauxite, Paravauxite and Metavauxite which was discovered along the Contacto and San Jose veins in this mine and was first described by Sam Gordon and Mark Bandy.
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share specimen![Metavauxite, Paravauxite from Siglo Veinte Mine, Llallagua, Potosí Department, Bolivia [db_pics/new09/sea79a.jpg]](db_pics/new09/sea79a.jpg)
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