Bertrandite

specimen number:
9507131

location:
Papachacra, Corral Quemado, Belen, Catamarca, Argentina

description:
A choice thumbnail specimen for the species and locality, lustrous translucent crystals of bertrandite in a cluster without matrix. This is in great condition all around.

Papachacra, situated near Corral Quemado in the Belen Department of Catamarca, Argentina, is a remote mineral district featuring small, fluorine-rich miarolitic pegmatites tied to the shallowly emplaced Paleozoic El Portezuelo (Papachacra) Granite stock. While the region has seen artisanal and small-scale mining prospect activity and organized claim work since the late 20th century (with modern exploration ramping up around the late 1980s) without a definitive historical closing date, its pegmatites and associated hydrothermal pockets are celebrated by geologists and collectors for producing exceptional specimens of smoky quartz, microcline, albite, fluorite, and topaz. Within this specialized geological setting, rare accessory accessory minerals include bertrandite, a basic beryllium sorosilicate that crystallizes as a late-stage secondary phase during post-magmatic volatile evolution.

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