Detailed information
Species
Churchite-(Y), Goethite
Dimensions
20 x 35 x 26
mm
Weight
14 g
Locality
Leonie I Mine, Auerbach in der Oberpfalz Amberg-Sulzbach District Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany
Condition
No recorded repairs
Churchite-(Y) was first described from an iron mine near Auerbach in der Oberpfalz - Maffei mine - in the early 20th century before it was realized that the original Churchite found a century earlier in Cornwall had been confused and was yttrium-dominant too, but had been described as cerium-dominant. Churchite-(Y) was subsequently identified in another iron mine near Auerbach in der Oberpfalz - Leonie I mine, and that is where this miniature specimen is from. Upon it, Churchite-(Y) forms classic, snow-white to pale cream coloured silky acicular to feathery sprays to about 2 mm in diameter in cavities within brown Goethite iron ore. This is a great representative example of this rare species. Ex the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).