24 rough astrophyllite from Russia (Kola Penisula) 4 (07/01/2009)...

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24 rough astrophyllite from Russia (Kola Penisula) 412g

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24 rough astrophyllite from Russia (Kola Penisula) 412g

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Sold Date: 07/01/2009
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Advertising

Hello! Welcome to our familys Ebay store!

Our family has a Spectrolite quarry in Ylämaa , Finland . We bought the quarry in 2003 and since then Ive been working t with my son and my wife helps in production. The size the quarry is 10x50 meters. We have a workshop w we produce products not only from this raw material but from many other stones, gems, fossils and meteorites; mainly from Russia . During the portion process we excerpt, we saw, we polish and we do cabochons, polished slabs, pendants, jeweler boxes, eggs, sps and many other things. We sell first-hand products for any taste preferences. Our stones are sold to the kind of people who love stones, gems, meteorites, fossils but also for jewelers, collectors, etc. Thank you for your time! Good luck with your bidding!

Andrey & Family

ASTROPHYLLITE

Astrophyllite is a very rare, brown to golden yellow hydrous potassium iron titanium silicate mineral. Belonging to the astrophyllite group, astrophyllite may be classed either as an inosilicate, phyllosilicate or an intermediate between the two. It forms an isomorphous series with kupletskite, to which it is visually identical and often intimately associated. Astrophyllite is of interest primarily to scientists and collectors.

Heavy, soft and fragile, astrophyllite typically forms as bladed , radiating stellate aggregates. It is this crystal habit that gives astrophyllite its name; from the Greek words astron meaning "star" and phyllon meaning "leaf." Its high, submetallic lustre and dark colour contrast sharply with the light coloured (felsic) matrix the mineral is regularly found within. Astrophyllite is usually opaque to translucent, but may be transparent in thin specimens.

As the crystals themselves possess perfect cleavage, they are typically left in situ , the entire aggregate often cut into slabs and polished. Owing to its limited availability and high cost, astrophyllite is seldom seen in an ornamental capacity. It is sometimes used in jewellery w it is fashioned into cabochons.

Found in cavities and fissures in unusual felsic igneous rocks, astrophyllite is associated with feldspar, mica, titanite, zircon, nepheline and aegirine. Common impurities include magnesium, aluminium, calcium, zirconium, niobium, and tantalum. It was first discovered in 1854 at its type locality; Laven Island , Norway . Interestingly, kupletskite was not known until 1956, over a hundred years later.

Astrophyllite is found in a few scarce, remote localities: Mont-Saint-Hilaire , Quebec , Canada ; Pikes Peak , Colorado , USA ; Narsarsuk and Kangerdluarsuk, Greenland; Brevig , Norway ; and the Kola Peninsula, Russia .

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

· Color : usually golden yellow or yellowish brown, but also greenish brown specimens are found.

· Luster : vitreous or submetallic to metallic, can be pearly on cleavage surfaces.

· Transparency : crystals are translucent to opaque.

· Crystal System : triclinic; bar 1

· Crystal Habits : include small tabular or bladed crystals often grouped in starlike aggregates. Also found in lamellar massives.

· Cleavage : perfect in one direction.

· Fracture : uneven.

· Hardness : 3.

· Specific Gravity : 3.3 - 3.4

· Streak : yellowish white.

· Best Field Indicators : brittleness, cleavage, color, luster and localities.

· Chemistry : ( K,Na)3(Fe,Mn)7Ti2(SiO3)8(O,OH)7 , Potassium Sodium Iron Manganese Titanium Silicate Hydroxide.

· Class : Silicates

· Subclass : Inosilicates

· Group : Astrophyllite

· Uses : mineral specimen

DESCRIPTION OF THIS ITEM

24 rough pieces of astrophyllite from Russia. weight: 412,0 g. 86 g - 9 pieces, 189 g - 8 pieces, 137 g - 7 pieces. coins size: 23 x 23 x 3 mm. 25,4 mm = 1"

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