Detailed information
Species
Ericaite
Dimensions
10 x 10 x 25
mm
Weight
2 g
Locality
Bischofferode Potash Works Am Ohmberg, Eichsfeld District Thuringia, Germany
Condition
No recorded repairs
Ericaite is an extremely rare iron borate chloride formed in evaporitic deposits. It is the iron analogue of Boracite which is much the more common species. This fine thumbnail specimen is from one of the classic localities - Bischofferode Potash Works, Thuringia, Germany which closed in 1993. It is from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021) and is a very rare matrix specimen - Ericaite is normally seen as loose pseudocubic microcrystals 1 to 3 mm in size. Mounted on an acryllic base for display and handling, the Ericaite occurs as two individual dark, almost black, pseudocubic crystals (3 and 2 mm across) embedded in an unspecified white matrix (possibly Halite or Carnallite). The Ericaite crystals are not perfect - they have clear intergrowths from the white matrix - but have good cubic shape and display well. An extremely rare species to obtain.