Detailed information
Species
Ludlamite
Dimensions
54 x 73 x 62
mm
Weight
206 g
Locality
Huanuni Mine Huanuni, Dalence Province Oruro Department, Bolivia
Condition
No recorded repairs
Discoveries at Huanuni Mine, Huanuni, Dalence Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia in 2019, set a new best of species level for Ludlamite. The mine was already known to have produced worldclass Ludlamite specimens, but sporadically for twenty-or-so years. This flower-like divergent spray of large, bladed, monoclinic Ludlamite crystals shows how the level has stepped up. The colour is quite distinctive, a much more intense, almost organic green, like crystallized angelica, but it is the way the crystals are aggregated as a large rosette, or star-burst, that make them unique. The crystal spray on this specimen is a remarkable 6 cm across and it sits on a small piece of matrix to stand up for display. The crystals are translucent and the way that light reflects internally makes the crystals dappled, or colour-zoned, with a fine, almost 'wet' lustre. A gorgeous small cabinet display specimen that exudes quality. Interestingly, Henry Ludlam, for which Ludlamite is named, was a famous Victorian-era British mineral collector who was renowned for the quality of his specimens. He would be proud, apart from the fact that he collected British specimens!
