Betafite

specimen number:
2063471

location:
Silver Crater Mine, Bancroft, Ontario, Canada

description:
A very fine sharp semi lustrous brown grouping of betafite crystals. this is basically one crystal with several smaller ones attached. complete all around with no points of attachment, this is in terrific condition. the specimen comes with several previous collection labels, one from the collection of Ray DeMark, one from John Medici, and the last one from the collection of Robert Bolton. the Medici label gives a date of 1980.

Situated near Bancroft in Cardiff Township, Ontario, the Silver Crater mine sits within a complex geological environment featuring a crustal carbonatite body enclosed by biotite-amphibolite, syenitized gneiss, and marble. prospecting and extraction began in the late nineteenth century, initially focusing on industrial mica, phosphate, and feldspar from large surface pits, before shifting in the 1950s toward uranium exploration that drove an exploratory adit into the hillside. The site became world-renowned among mineral collectors for yielding exceptional crystal specimens embedded directly within the coarse-grained calcite matrix. Regarding betafite, it was historically classified as a distinct mineral species belonging to the pyrochlore supergroup, typically appearing as dark, octahedral, radioactive oxide crystals containing notable amounts of titanium, niobium, tantalum, and uranium. Modern mineralogical nomenclature has since discredited betafite as a standalone species, reclassifying it as a name formerly used for members of the pyrochlore group that are enriched in specific elements like uranium and titanium.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.