Sapphirine-2m

specimen number:
2354201

location:
Vangaindrano, Fianorantsoa, Madagascar

description:
Deep blue to almost black lustrous sharp hexagonal crystal grouping of sapphirine-2m with little attached matrix. Complete all around and in great condition.

Located in the Anosy region near Vangaindrano in southern Madagascar, the surrounding high-grade metamorphic terrane consists of Precambrian crystalline rocks that underwent intense regional metamorphism under extreme pressure and temperature conditions. Within these silica-poor, aluminum-rich granulate and gneiss formations, rare metamorphic reactions produced distinct mineral pockets where sapphirine-2M crystallized alongside minerals like phlogopite, spinel, and cordierite. Artisanal miners and specimen collectors discovered these occurrences during small-scale mining operations targeting gemstones and rare mineral specimens in Madagascar's interior. The locality gained notable recognition among mineral collectors and researchers for yielding exceptional blue-grey to dark blue crystals of sapphirine-2M, a rare monoclinic polytype of the aluminum-magnesium silicate mineral group, making it one of the premier global localities for collector-quality specimens of this rare species.

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