Detailed information
Species
Senarmontite
Dimensions
56 x 75 x 35
mm
Weight
240 g
Locality
Djebel Hammimat Mine Ain Babouche, Ain Beida Constantine Province, Algeria
Condition
No recorded repairs
This very rich small cabinet-sized Senarmontite specimen from the Type Locality at Djebel Hammimat mine is almost pure crystallized Senarmontite which fits with it having once been a ore at the mine. The mine was discovered in 1845 but initially the ore near surface was massive, only becoming more extensively crystallized with depth. On this specimen well-formed grey waxy octahedral crystals to 5 mm across (one 6 mm crystal on the side is damaged) liberally cover the surfaces, but in essence extend through the entirely of the specimen. There is some damage to crystals, due to their softness and age, but many are in very good condition and look fine on display. Remarkably, the material from Djebel Hammimat mine remains the best in the world for this species. The specimen is an older one, accompanied by a Wilhelm Maucher (1879-1930) dealer label and a more recent Robert Jakob (Munich) collection label. Both labels record the locality as "Constantine", a city 90 km away, but it is accepted that all of these great Senarmontite specimens came from the Djebel Hammimat mine.