Lazulite with Siderite, Quartz

specimen number:
9302405

location:
Rapid Creek, Yukon, Canada

description:
Large sharp lustrous deep blue crystals of lazulite to 1.0 cm in size across the top of this matrix with blocky rhombohedral siderite crystals and minor quartz. In good condition. The specimen comes with a previous set of collection labels as seen at the end of the video.

Rapid Creek in the far northern Yukon of Canada is a world-renowned mineral locality set within Cretaceous-age sedimentary sequences of the Rapid Creek Formation, featuring phosphate- and siderite-rich ironstones interbedded with shale. Discovered by geologists and prospectors in the mid-twentieth century, this remote, fly-in region became famous among mineral collectors for yielding an extraordinary diversity of rare secondary phosphate minerals, most notably deep azure-blue lazulite crystals found in fractures and vugs alongside quartz and siderite. Although commercial mining was never established here, the extreme remoteness and subsequent protective measures have made mineral collecting exceptionally difficult, turning these aesthetic phosphate specimens into highly prized collector items.

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