Detailed information
Species
Sperrylite
Dimensions
40 x 26 x 21
mm
Locality
Zapadnaya Mine, Talnakh, Noril'sk Taimyr Peninsula Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia
Condition
No recorded repairs
Sperrylite - platinum arsenide - is recorded from a remarkable number of localities worldwide, but very few have produced the size and quality of crystals as Zapadnaya mine, Talnakh, Noril'sk, Taimyr Peninsula, Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia. This miniature specimen is a really beautiful example. It features a large cluster (to 1.3 cm across) of very bright, silvery, intergrown cubo-octahedral Sperrylite crystals sat gracefully upon characteristic brassy Chalcopyrite matrix with the odd black Magnetite micro-crystal. The rear of the crystal aggregate is quite flat, but from the front display direction that shape is wonderful. The crystal faces are mirror bright and reveal a network of fractures, but these do not appear to affect the stability of the crystal. This specimen was formerly in a very famous and prominent German private collection until 2016. A wonderful, and large, Sperrylite crystal aggregate.