UTR21-074
Viitaniemiite with Lepidolite
Paprok, Kamdesh District, Nuristan, Afghanistan
Miniature, 4.8 x 4.1 x 3.8 cm
Ex. Dr. Thomas Campbell; Tom Epaminondas
$1,800.00 Payment Plan Available
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Viitaniemiite is an incredibly rare sodium-calcium-manganese-aluminum phosphate and this specimen is very rich, featuring clusters of wedge-point prismatic crystals of off-white Viitaniemiite ranging from a few millimeters up to 2.0 cm! There must be two dozen crystals displayed across the central portion of this specimen. The Viitaniemiite crystals are surrounded by, and growing from, mounded aggregates of lavender Lepidolite. A phenomenal specimen of this super rare pegmatite phosphate species. This is a very good Viitaniemiite combination specimen from the Paprok pegmatite locality in Afghanistan. Very few, beyond thumbnail size, are ever seen for sale. The color on this is not the rare red color found in a few pockets long ago, but the crystals are long and stereotypic, excellent for the species. An old piece from the collection of Dr. Tom Campbell, our staff mineralogist and coauthor of the Encyclopedia of Minerals.