This Specimen has been sold.
5.2" Sky-Blue, Botryoidal Aragonite Formation - China
This is a phenomenal formation of sky-blue colored aragonite, from Yunnan Province, China. This specimen has a bizarre, silly-string like, stalactitic appearance. When viewing the mineral under UV lighting, this specimen fluoresces a faint, violet color. The base has been cut flat to allow for aesthetic 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.
SPECIES
Aragonite
LOCATION
Wenshan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China
SIZE
5.2" long, 2.8" wide
CATEGORY
ITEM
#63916