Detailed information
Species
Mellite
Dimensions
46 x 60 x 40
mm
Weight
58 g
Locality
Csordakúti Mine, Bicske-Csordakút Bicske-Zsámbéki Basin Fejér Co., Hungary
Condition
No recorded repairs
Mellite is a peculiar mineral species: a metallic-organic compound which if discovered today might not make the cut to be accepted as a species, but is 'Grandfathered', meaning that it was described so long ago that it holds special status. It's strange chemistry involves a metallic-organic compound containing aluminium and a carbon-oxygen molecule. First described in 1789, in Germany, there have only been a handful of significant crystallized discoveries in the subsequent two centuries. The most important of these was made in about 1981 in Hungary, at the Csordakúti mine. Remarkably large, at cabinet size, this pure crystal aggregate from Csordakúti mine cannot claim to be gemmy, but its large octahedral crystals are stacked on top of each other, producing a fascinating crystal display of this rare species. Cream to beige in colour the crystals are naturally partially etched, producing a somewhat skeletal form. A striking example of this rare organic species.