Detailed information
Dimensions
95 x 112 x 63
mm
Weight
658 g
Locality
Okorusu Mine Otjiwarongo District Namibia
Condition
No recorded repairs
Nearly everyone has heard of Okorusu mine in Namibia and its stunning Fluorite crystals but less commonly seen are combinations of Celestine or Baryte upon the Fluorite. The Celestine is quite distinctive, and rarer, with an attractive celestial blue colour whilst the Baryte tends to been cream or grey in colour and can form larger crystals, although both are dull textured and opaque, rather than gemmy. The mine, an openpit commercial operation for industrial-grade fluorspar, allowed limited mineral specimen extraction, thus preserving some world-class crystallized specimens, but the mine closed in 2014. This excellent cabinet-size display specimen presents a rather lovely extensive coverage of small (up to 8 mm in length) tabular, celestial blue Celestine crystals coating one side of an aggregate of very dark purple, to almost black, glossy, Fluorite cubes, with one edge of the Fluorite clear of Celestine, showing the habit of modified cubes, with corners very slightly cropped to form small octahedral faces. The Fluorite crystals reach 1.7 cm on edge. It is rare that we come across display worthy Celestine specimens from Okorusu mine, but this one from the Kessler Collection is extremely fine with top colour and minimal damage.
