AEGIRINE CRYSTAL

AEGIRINE CRYSTAL

Aegirine Crystal with Feldspar.  Lovely lustrous black crystals and contrasting white Albite combined in one specimen.  An amazing crystal, that looks even better in person.  The main crystal is quite wide and as hard as Steel.    A great collector piece and an interesting and less common mineral.

Location:
Mount Malosa, Zomba Valley, Malawi.

Dimensions:
9.2cm x 0.9cm x 0.7cm, 11g.

Sodium Iron Silicate.

Aegirine: NaFe³⁺Si₂O₆

Forming impressive crystals that have become classics among collectors.  These tall opaque monument like crystals that jut majestically out from their host rocks are simply splendid.  Named after the Norse God of the Sea Aegir.  Aegirine is difficult to distinguish from its close cousin Augite.  Under normal circumstances, the steep pyramids of Aegirine are the only point of differentiation.

Albite: Na(AlSi₃O₈)

Albite is the last of the feldspars to crystallize from molten rock.  The process of crystallization from a molten rock body serves to isolate rarer elements in the last stages of crystallization and therefore produces rare mineral species.  Albite is often found with lovely rare and beautiful minerals.  Although usually not an exceptional collection mineral in itself, albite can be a nice accessory mineral to other mineral species.

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