3.6" Lustrous Rutile Crystal Cluster - Graves Mountain, Georgia

Lustrous Rutile Crystal Cluster - Graves Mountain, Georgia #209810

This specimen contains a cluster of large, deep red-black rutile crystals with a metallic-like luster, on a rutile-pyrophyllite matrix. These crystals appear to have shifted and resettled while in the mountain, leaving them with a somewhat twisted appearance. Many of the faces didn't seem to be affected by this, as a brilliant mirror effect is still present. This is a collector quality specimen that shows off how big rutile crystals can be.

Graves Mountain is a popular mining and rockhounding location in Lincoln County, Georgia. It contains several well known pits in which a variety of minerals can be found. One of the most popular sites, known as the "rutile collecting area", produces superb, lustrous rutile crystals that have attracted collectors from all around the world. The size and quality of the rutile from this area has deemed Graves Mountain as the world’s premier location for large rutile crystals.

Additional minerals from this location include iridescent hematite after botryoidal goethite, pyrophyllite, lazulite, blue kyanite, "blue" quartz, pyrite, fuschite, micro-woodhouseite crystals, and many more. Graves Mountain is still mined today and contains sites where collectors can go out and find these fascinating minerals themselves.

Rutile is an oxide mineral composed primarily of TiO2, though iron is a typical chemical variation. It comes in a wide variety of crystal forms, from lustrous metallic-looking crystals and thin straw-like crystals to even deep red crystals with slight translucence. Rutile also forms needle-like inclusion with other minerals, most commonly with quartz. Rarer polymorphs of rutile (TiO2) include anatase and brookite, both of which have unique crystal structures.

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