David Hospital
Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 5
Location: Barcelona
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 Posted: Jan 03, 2008 14:28 Post subject: Extraordinary gallite specimen from Tsumeb |
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Three months ago I saw in the web page of an internet dealer from USA a very interesting specimen of crystallized gallite from Tsumeb. It was a typical specimen of germanite/gallite from the locality, but with 1-2 mm crystals of gallite !, an extremely rare gallium mineral. The price was not very expensive for the mineral and rarity, so I tried to buy it.
However, before buying the specimen, I requested analytical work done on the sample for confirmation of the species, but to my surprise the crystals were not analyzed !. The dealer offered to sell me the specimen and do by myself the analysis. If finally the crystals were not gallite, I could give back the mineral and he would give me back the money. I agreed, but about the same time, another customer that was also interested in the same specimen and apparently made the reservation earlier, finally got it.
For me the story was closed, but just today I have seen the same specimen pictured in MINDAT with a comment that the crystals were analyzed and proved to be galena instead of gallite!
If anyone know of gallite crystals from Tsumeb or Kipushi (the only other known locality) please reply to this message.
David Hospital
Dr Uwe Kolitsch said in Mindat:
The lustrous, dark grey, coarsely crystalline masses with prominent right-angle cleavage planes are galena, not gallite. Have X-rayed (SXRD + PXRD) an identical specimen bought by a Vienna collector from the same company. Gallite may be present as part of the reddish germanite ore, though. |
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FMF Forum
Site Admin
Joined: 21 Dec 2007
Posts: 37
Location: Spain
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| Posted: Jan 04, 2008 15:57 Post subject: Minerals and Analysis |
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| Carlos Muñoz wrote: |
Analyze and carry out the mineral determination must be one of the most important tasks of any mineral dealer and, if possible, of the collector. The gallite case is one of several situations you found in Mineral Shows and Internet. Dealers who try to sell rare mineral should offer to the collector/buyer the highest ratio of security what they are buying. Sometimes it is not necessary that mineral must be rare, a simple “fluoro?-carbonate?-hydroxyl?-apatite” could be the origin of a large discussion.
Sometimes real professional mineral dealers have lost a good batch of mineral novelties or the exclusivity waiting that respective analyses and/or determinations were carried out.
It is really funny that the dealer says to the customer to analyze the specimen and if it is not what he says he refunds the money. What money? The specimen cost, post mail, identification (DRX, EDS...very cheap), the lost time, more post mail...really funny
In the world of systematic mineralogy is very funny see minerals extremely rare, extremely small and extremely expensive without an analysis or determination ... and sometimes without no crystal on the sample...
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