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[Tobi]

Hi all,

i've got a silvery anatase specimen but no information about the locality. Has anyone an idea where this specimen could be from? Norway? Pakistan?

Cheers!
Tobi

[Jordi Fabre]

Not idea Tobias, sorry. Probably not from Norway nor Pakistan.

Jordi

[Jan Erik]

This Anatas does not comes from Norway. The matrix is totaly unknown to me. How big is the specimen? The well known localities from Hardangervidda and Valdres produces very different Anatas than pictured.

[alfredo]

I also agree with not Norway, nor Pakistan, but no idea from where.

[Tobi]

Hi again and thank you all for your answers - i know that it's nearly impossible to find out the locality if it is not provided. I got this from the collection of my uncle who unfortunately had no information about the locality. But i hope that maybe someone knows; guessing localites of an anatase specimen is maybe not that impossible as with calcite or quartz ...

The specimen measures 55 x 40 x 15 mm, the largest crystal 9 mm.

[Carles Millan]

[GneissWare]

Tobias,
What is the matrix? Can you identify and maybe provide a photo of the back of the specimen? Definitely not Norway.
Bob

[Tobi]

@Bob: I'll try to take some more photos in the next days, but i don't think that this will help, the matrix completely looks like the parts of it you can see on the pictures that are yet posted ...

@Carles: Of course i'll browse Mindat before i resign, but i don't have so much time at the moment and thus i'm a little bit afraid of the number of pages ;-)

Showing the pictures here was just a spontaneous idea. I am no expert for anatase, so i hoped that the pictures could be maybe distinctive for a certain locality. But if not, putting on a lot of coffee and browsing the Mindat gallery will be the next step ... ;-)

Thanks again to all who gave answers on this thread - to exclude some localities is a help as well!

[alfredo]

Tobias, the only collector I know who specializes in worldwide anatases is Robert Rothenberg in New York. Perhaps if you send him your photo, he might have a good idea. I don't want to publish his e-mail address online without his permission, so send me a private e-mail (alfredo at mindat.org) and I'll put you in contact with him.

[Tobi]

Alfredo, thank you very much!

Mr. Rothenberg immediately responded after i sent him the pictures of the specimen, his answer:

"Your photos are quite nice - I cannot tell the size of the specimen, but I think it is larger than a micro. Most anatase (except some from Norway and Pakistan) are quite small. As to your specimen, it does not look like anatase. The shape of the crystals does not look right, nor the matrix. Anatase are usually on some other matrix - yours appear to be on a similar material."

I agree to his statement about the matrix, but what about the crystals? Again, i don't know much about anatase, but isn't that a typical crystal form for the species?

[nurbo]

Hello Tobias,
This is just a wild guess but could this be Arsenopyrite?
db

[Tobi]

Interesting guess, but to me the crystal surface is too smooth and shiny for arsenopyrite. What do the others say?

[Jordi Fabre]

I always had the slight feeling of Hematite, maybe from Isola d'Elba...?

[Debbie Woolf]

I too thought Hematite & perhaps from South Africa N'Chwaning mines, the redness in the matrix looks similar to Andradite Garnets you often see in the manganese.

[Tobi]

@Jordi: I know it looks similar, but i own several hematite specimens from Rio Marina (Elba) and know quite well about them, and the crystal forms are different, none of the Elba hematites i've ever seen looks like that. But colour, luster and habit of the matrix are very similar, so i can understand your guess.

@Debbie: Hematite from N'Chwaning Mines, could be possible, or maybe Wessels Mine ... Anyone who is expert for South African minerals?