1.7" Dark Brown Niobophyllite on Feldspar and Smoky Quartz - Malawi

Dark Brown Niobophyllite on Feldspar and Smoky Quartz - Malawi #330863

This is a 1.7" wide mineral association featuring uncommon, dark-brown niobophyllite aggregates on feldspar and smoky quartz. It was collected from Malawi, Africa. Niobophyllite is the niobium-rich analogue to astrophyllite.

It has been mounted to an acrylic display base with mineral tack.

Astrophyllite is a rare hydrous potassium iron titanium silicate mineral with the chemical formula (K,Na)3(Fe++,Mn)7Ti2Si8O24(O,OH)7. It commonly forms as radiating, bladed aggregates of soft and brittle crystals, colored golden-yellow to brown. Due to the fragile nature of astrophyllite crystals, they're usually left in situ (within surrounding matrix) for presentation. However, this hasn't stopped jewelers from incorporating polished astrophyllite specimens into jewelry.

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