VESZELYITE ON ZINCOLIBETHENITE
Palabanda Quarries, M'Fouati, Bouenza Department, Republic of the Congo
5.7 x 4.2 x 2.9 cm
$1,200.00
$1,200.00
Shipping calculated at checkout.
ABOUT THE SPECIMEN
Veszelyite has been a highly treasured species since the famous Montana finds decades back, and more recent finds in the Republic of the Congo have produced a number of specimens that have made it more accessible to collectors. Atop a layer of softly contrasting blue-green zincolibethenite, the veszelyite here forms groupings that reach over an inch across, and the individual faces are super lustrous. When light hits from the right angles, one can see the alluring blue hues that make the species so desirable. An excellent example for size class, nicely balanced all around.
VIDEO
MORE INFO:
The Palabanda Quarries host Pb-Zn-Cu mineralization in Neoproterozoic limestones similar to other carbonate-hosted deposits in the Central African Copperbelt, though the Congo Republic occurrences are geographically separated from the main Katangan belt deposits. The quarries were intensively explored in the 1940s-1960s but modern mining with ore processing only began in 2016, ceasing by 2018. Spirifer Minerals systematically collected veszelyite specimens during 2017-2019 operations, with notable finds continuing through summer 2023. The veszelyite forms as lustrous dark blue monoclinic crystals reaching 7 mm, typically on hemimorphite matrix with occasional associations including zincolibethenite - an olive-green copper zinc phosphate arsenate that creates striking color contrast against the deep blue veszelyite. What makes these combinations significant is veszelyite's extreme rarity, with macroscopic crystals known from only a handful of localities worldwide. The 2023 finds produced specimens with unusually isolated crystals distinct from earlier dense carpets, making them particularly valued by systematic collectors. Palabanda represents one of the finest known sources for this species, with specimens distributed at Tucson 2024 establishing new reference material for the mineral.