4" Fluorescent, Red-Orange Botryoidal Aragonite Formation - Peru

Fluorescent, Red-Orange Botryoidal Aragonite Formation - Peru #225427

This is a beautiful formation of red-orange cave aragonite (aka cave calcite), collected from the Pachacayo Mine in Junín, Peru. When viewing the mineral under short and long wave UV, this specimen fluoresces a faint, white-yellow color, with the strongest fluorescence under short-wave UV. Following extended UV exposure, the aragonite displays phosphorescent properties that remain for a short time.

Aragonite formation can be found on both sides of the specimen. Comes with an acrylic display stand to assist with presentation.

Aragonite is one of two common calcium carbonate (CaCO3) minerals: the other is calcite, of which aragonite forms as a pseudomorph. Its crystal lattice differs from calcite, resulting in a different crystal shape. It displays a translucent to white color when pure, and when impure can vary between yellow, green, pink, blue and brown. It typically forms in low-temperature hydrothermal veins, in hot springs, and as precipitates from chemicals in sedimentary rock. It can also form under biological processes: aragonite forms naturally in most mollusk shells, and as the calcareous endoskeleton most corals.

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