Tapiolite-Fe

specimen number:
2354102

location:
Nathan Hall Quarry, East Hampton, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, USA

description:
Superb crystal for the species, black very lustrous and sharply formed without matrix. Complete all around, this is in terrific condition.

Situated in Middlesex County, Connecticut, the Nathan Hall Quarry is a classic New England pegmatite locality set within the Paleozoic metamorphic terrane of the Bronson Hill arc. Mined historically in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for high-grade industrial feldspar and quartz, the granitic pegmatite dike intruded country rock, cooling slowly to allow the growth of large accessory crystals and rare metal oxides. Collectors and mineralogists value the site for its rich suite of rare-element minerals, most notably tapiolite-Fe. This heavy, black, submetallic iron tantalum oxide occurs in the pegmatite zones as small dipyramidal to prismatic crystals and dark masses, providing fine micro-specimens of niobium-tantalam mineralogy. Field collecting flourished in the mid-to-late 20th century across the old mine dumps before vegetation and property access limits curtailed heavy collecting.

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