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[Carles Millan]

Dany and Tobi,

Thank you very much to both for posting your comments. I appreciate them a lot.

[Carles Millan]

Anatase - TiO₂, quartz - SiO₂

Not a good anatase, of course. It was already posted here 14 years ago, and I just now got not a good photo either but at least a decent one. And here it is.

Overall size: 43 mm x 35 mm. Anatase crystal:13.5 mm long. Quartz crystal: 17 mm long. Mass (weight): 27 g.

Zard Mountain, Ras Koh Mountains, Kharan, Kharan District, Balochistan (Baluchistan), Pakistan.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are copyright by Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified (if it is not too much to ask...). Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

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[Carles Millan]

Vesuvianite (Ca,Na)₁₉(Al,Mg,Fe²⁺)₁₃(SiO₄)₁₀(Si₂O₇)₄(OH,F,O)₁₀ (formula according to IMA, January 2023)

Type locality. Hard to find historical classic specimen of lustrous brown vesuvianite crystals to 14 mm wide and 7 mm thick showing tabular habit with main faces {100} + {110}, included in a skarn dense matrix accompanied on the back with a number of small blackish green hexagonal crystals of what might be clinochlore. From the methamorphic area of Mount Somma, Vesuvius. The locality of this specimen was confirmed in person by the renowned Catalan collector Joaquim Folch i Girona in 1966.

These vesuvianite specimens are no longer available on the market because their deposit has been exhausted for >60 years now.

Acquired from Francesc Coma i Molist in June 1966 for the equivalent of €0.54.

Dimensions: 73 mm x 48 mm. Main crystal: 14 mm x 7 mm. Mass (weight): 218 g.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are copyright by Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified (if it is not too much to ask...). Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

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[Carles Millan]

Fluorapatite Ca₅(PO₄)₃F, muscovite KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂

Pink fluorapatite crystal {100}, {001}, {101} with muscovite on a granitic rock (not visible in the photos). Overall size: 110 mm x 75 mm. Fluorapatite crystal size: 14 mm on edge, 20 mm across. Mass (weight): 432 g.
Special thanks to José Zendrera (aka Josele) for his advice on the Miller indices.

Chumar Bakhoor, Hunza Valley, Nagar District, Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Areas), Pakistan.

Acquired in November 2007.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are copyright by Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified (if it is not too much to ask...). Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

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[Enrique Llorens]

Carles, nice Apatite from this classic locality.

[Carles Millan]

[Carles Millan]

Beryl Be₃Al₂(Si₆O₁₈), albite Na(AlSi₃O₈), quartz SiO₂, schorl NaFe²⁺₃Al₆(Si₆O₁₈)(BO₃)₃(OH)₃(OH)

Single crystal of beryl with the usual hexagonal prismatic habit, gemmy in over a third of its length, and doubly terminated. The lower pinacoid is not complete but it is not broken either. It comes elegantly set on a matrix of albite and some quartz, plus a bit of schorl. Absolutely no damage.

Overall size: 74 mm x 46 mm. Beryl crystal size: 74 mm tall, 18 mm wide. Mass (weight): 94 g.

Shengus (Shingus), Baltistan District, Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Areas), Pakistan.

Acquired in March 2023. The previous owner had bought it at Munich 2009 show from a Pakistani dealer.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are copyright by Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified (if it is not too much to ask...). Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

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[Don Lum]

Carles, beautiful Beryl specimen. Perfect. Congratulations.

Best wishes

[Tobi]

I agree, a wonderful aquamarine specimen, congratulations :-)

[Carles Millan]

[Enrique Llorens]

Aquamarine very aesthetic and very well photographed.

Congratulations

All the best

[Philippe Durand]

what I like in this specimen is the hight geminess combined with the matrix;

[Carles Millan]

[Carles Millan]

Barite BaSO₄

Group of transparent, greenish-honey colored, tabular barite crystals, most of them showing a parallel growth usual in this locality, with an undefined compact sandy material attached on the back. Undamaged. Acquired in March 2023.

Overall size: 64 mm x 53 mm. Largest crystal size: 54 mm. Mass (weight): 91 g.

Warihuyn Hill, Puños, Miraflores District, Huamalíes Province, Huánuco Department, Peru.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified (if it is not too much to ask...). Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

Software, photos, and maps