85.00 USD
Rare Pink Muscovite (mica) crystals on albite/quartz matrix
Focal Element, Collector's Display Specimen
Dimensions (mm): 85 x 70 x 40
Dimensions (inches): 3.35 x 2.75 x 1.6
Origin: Harding Mine, Taos County, New Mexico
This is not lepidolite this is muscovite with a manganese inclusion causing the pink color, manganese is the same element contained in Rhodochrosite
The Harding mine is a pegmatite. It contains huge specimens (20 feet long) of spodumene (kunzite), a assortment of beryllium minerals, 2 micas - this rose muscovite - the rose coloration being caused by manganese and a lithium mica - lepidolite. The lithium at Harding is a radioactive isotope and in some areas of the pit you can get a substantial reading on a geiger counter. The 2 micas tend to occur in different parts of the pit. You may get a mild reading from these but no greater than normal background radiation. The mine was mined for the beryllium metal in the 40's for the Manhattan project. Beryllium is a non striking metal and is a superior metal for bomb casings.
I dug quite a bit of this many years ago before the university limited your access. This comes from a particularly good vug of rose mica, possibly the best vug we ever came across.
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Please note I list dimensions in millimeters (mm) and inches, not centimeters. Millimeters are jewelry industry standard and for consistency I use millimeters in all listings.