46 new fluorescent minerals to Worldwide Showcase

Today I have added 46 new specimens to the Worldwide Showcase Page of my website.  A description of a few of the small batches is provided below.

Agrellite, Albite and Thorite, Kipawa Alkaline Complex, Temiscamingue County, Quebec, Canada – I had several requests to post more of these three-color combinations from the classic agrellite locality in Canada. Agrellite fluoresce best under midrange ultraviolet light but does still fluoresce under shortwave ultraviolet light as well. The red fluorescing albite and green fluorescing thorite fluoresce best under shortwave ultraviolet light so the specimens were photographed under shortwave.

Yttrofluorite, Innhavet, Drag, Nordland, Norway – I have had this material for many years. Yttrium activated fluorite tends to fluoresce a creamy yellow or cream color. These specimens are fairly rich and don’t come on the market often.

Sellaite, Fluorite, Fonsante Mine, Tanneron, Var, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’ Azur, France – I acquired a large batch of these specimens some years back. Sellaite is in the halide group of minerals, with a chemical formula of MgF2. Sellaite was first discovered at the Gebroulaz glacier, Val Thorens, Savoie, Rhone-Alpes France in 1868. The mineral was named for Quintino Sella who was an Italian mining engineer and mineralogist (1827-1884).

The Fonsante Mine is an old fluorite mine which has been closed since the 1970s. Very few quality specimens of sellaite have ever been found on the dumps at this mine, making the sellaite from this location very rare. Within the mine itself, the sellaite was found in a vein in a small section of the mine. The collector of this material found a portion of the vein that produced the sellaite and had collected this batch of specimens for me. Most of the specimens I have for sale also contain violet fluorescing fluorite, making for a nice two-color combination.

Hackmanite, Karnasurt Mountain, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia – I purchased a large batch of these hackmanite specimens back in the 1990s. Many of them were highly tenebrescent (hence hackmanite as opposed to sodalite). Over the years I sold all the specimens that were visibly tenebrescent. The ones I have remaining are not visibly tenebrescent but may be again upon breaking of the specimen. Specimens from Kola are getting very hard to come by these days and I am glad I purchased this lot when I did.

Calcite, San Vicente Mine, Near Boquillas Del Carmen, Coahuila, Mexico – These specimens came out in abundance about 20 years ago (if I remember correctly). They are considered “Terlingua Type” and exhibit the same properties as the calcite from Terlingua, Texas. Under shortwave ultraviolet light the specimens fluoresce a nice blue color. Under longwave ultraviolet light they exhibit a nice color change to pink. They also have a very long duration sustained luminescence. As a result of these properties they have been very much in demand from the fluorescent mineral community. I have not seen these specimens for sale (wholesale) for many years now, so I am not sure of the status of the mine. Most of these specimens have been slightly acid dipped to remove lime scale, which is very common for this material.

Witherite, Calcite, Fluorite, Rampgill Mine, Nenthead, Cumbria, England – These fluorescent combinations are some of my favorites. The witherite from this locality can fluoresce white to yellow and exhibits sustained luminescence. The calcite can fluoresce pink to red and has been called barytocalcite from other dealers. I know with witherite present there is plenty of barium in the mix, but I don’t think this fluorescing pink to red material has actually be analytically identified to be barytocalcite rather than just calcite. If someone knows differently, please let me know. The specimens from this locality can also contain violet fluorescing fluorite which can make for a very aesthetic three-color specimen.

I will begin the photography soon for a new US Showcase update. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.