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8/13/2019 Minerals 6 Internet

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INTRODUCTION

Sahatany Valley is one of the mostfamous and important pegmatite fieldsand sources of gemstones and speci-

mens, especially for tourmalines, in

Madagascar and the whole of Africa forthat matter. Important diggings formulticolored and red tourmaline gem-stones and specimens have been docu-mented since the beginning of the20 th century. Decades of mining, whichremoved most of the easily accessibleparts of the pegmatites, have left modernday miners only the more difficultto reach deposits. Hence, the disco-

very of extraordinary pockets is now ararity.

This is one of the reasons that anexceptional find of a huge pocket con-taining well formed, multi-color, andgemmy liddicoatite crystals in mid 2012

was so su rprising and caused tourma-line fever in the area. Crystals from thatfind are without doubt some of the best

known from Madagascar and also someof the best known liddiocatites in the

world.

MIN ERALSIss e # 6 The Collector$s Ne!spaper 2013

A. Schauss specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Editor-in-Chief:Tomasz Praszkier (Poland)

Associated Editors: Paul Cragan (USA

John Veevaert (USA)

Associated Photographer: Jeff Scovil (USA)

Contact: [email protected]

Giant liddicoatitesfrom MadagascarFede)"c' PEZZOTTA & T'%a*/ PRASZKIER

Huge, multicolor liddicoatite crystal from Estatoby, Madagascar; 14 cm in length.Watzl Minerals specimen. A. Watzl Sr.

photo.

INTRODUCTION

The Pikes Peak region has beenproducing amazonite and smoky quartzspecimens as well as other pegmatite

minerals since the late 1870s. After a few earlier experimental digs, the early 1990s saw a couple of collectors begin-ning to use mechanized equipment to dig below the old dug-out areas. Joe Dorrisfirst used a backhoe in 1993, digging downwards to 4 m. He had some limitedsuccess finding some remaining, undis-covered miarolitic cavities (pockets) inthe decomposed Pikes Peak granite.

Beginning in 2000, Joe discoveredan extensive pegmatite swarm that heldan unusually high number of pockets. Hebrought out larger machinery, capable of crushing through the decomposed gran-ite to depths of 15 m to where some of thepockets were located. Many of the pock-ets contained finely colored euhedral

amazonite crystals in association withdeep black smoky quartz. This discovery became known as the Smoky Hawkstructure and has since produced many of the worlds finest specimens.

The 2011 mining season tested JoeDorris mining company with brokenequipment and runaway costs. Both ex-cavators broke down, more than dou-

Spirifer Minerals specimen. J. Scovil photo.

In this issue also:

Our Lucky Monday a great collecting story

In our 30 years of mining, 2011 was off to the worst start of any sea-son. We knew if we did not find agreat pocket, it could be the end of

our search for amazonite with smoky quartz.Monday morning, 13 June,

things were going badly. We could notstart the John Deer 992 excavator. ...

Read on page 7

Journal presentations:Lapis and extraLapis

Lapis is the only mineral maga-zine worldwide that is publishedmonthly. The publishers missionstatement in the foreword of the firstissue of a free and independent

Lapis will provide factual infor-mation for mineral collectors is

what we strive for today. Lapis is a magazine for mineral

enthusiasts, from beginners toprofessionals to mineral dealers. Itprovides the entire collectors com-munity with important informationabout minerals ...

Read on page 18

Lucky Monday inColorado, USAJ'*e(! L. DORRIS

Author with the freshly extracted first important specimen from the pocket known as Two Pillars. T. Dorris photo.

Continued on page 13

Classic combination of smoky quartzwith amazonite from Lucky Monday

pocket, Smoky Hawk claim, Colorado,USA. 8.2 cm in length. Spirifer collection.

J .

S c o v

i l p

h o

t o .

Continued on next page

Miners working in Estatoby pegmatite in Sahatany Valley, Madagascar, resting after work. J. Gajowniczek photo.


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3L c k " M o n d a " P o c k e t#6 ISSUE MINERALS

along a fault line) where they subse-quently crystallize and form cavities thatallow for the development of pegmatiticminerals. Comparatively, the linear peg-matites rarely give rise to pockets.

The cross section of a typical pocketstarts from the country granite andgrades into an aplite contact region. Theaplite then grades into larger grainedgraphic granite. Next, the various peg-matite minerals, chiefly feldspar andquartz elongate toward the pocket open-

ing and terminate in euhedral crystals within the pocket.Typical miarolitic cavities found at

the Smoky Hawk are approximately thesize of a watermelon with a large cavity reaching 60 by 60 by 30 cm high. The cav-

ities are generally ovoid and extendalong the pegmatite, the floor being somewhat flatter than the ceiling. Rarely,miarolitic cavities occur in the more ver-tical pegmatite dikes.

Of the pegmatites encountered atthe Smoky Hawk, three are the main pro-ducing bodies. Each has produced wellover one hundred miarolitic cavities, ap-proximately 90% of which have con-tained some amazonite and smoky quartz of varying quality. In comparison,other pegmatites within the Pikes PeakBatholith average two to three cavities,

with only 10% containing smoky quartzand amazonite of generally lighter color.

When encountered, most cavitiesshow very little open space, almost neverhave crystals attached to the ceiling, andusually resemble a jumble of clay-cov-ered broken aplite and pegmatite. Es-sentially, all the pockets forcefully rupture shortly after primary crystal-lization and continue to collapse due to

weakened and deteriorating surround-ing rock. Thus, when a pocket is opened,

the first indications of its presence willbe increasingly larger pegmatite frag-ments until a rusty red or yellowish eu-hedral face of a promising crystal isencountered.

Overburden is usually removed by mechanized equipment but collecting

within pockets is typically done withhand tools. The upper broken layers

(breakdown) are systematically removeduntil the pieces of pegmatite, with at-tached crystals still pointing into thepocket (ceiling plates), are revealed.These plates are then carefully pulledup, out, turned over, and hopefully revealsome incredible combination specimens.

Where possible, each section of thepocket is systematically collected, left

side, center, right side, and so on. Theright side ceiling crystals are wrappedtogether and the right side bottom crys-tals are wrapped together and thenplaced together in the same box. Thishelps keep sections in the proper prox-

imity of each so that broken specimenscan be more easily reassembled.

All but a very few, probably lessthan 0.5%, combination specimens of smoky quartz with amazonite are not re-paired. Contacts between the crystalsare usually weak and the crystals easily separate along the contact planes. Addto this the double cleavage of feldsparand a high incidence of separated andcleaved crystals results. Therefore, thecrystals are often reattached to one an-

other, much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Unlike the typical context of re-pair where a broken crystal has beenreassembled, most of the repairs onthe finer amazonite and smoky quartzspecimens are simple fit repairs.

The most demanding process beginsshortly after the pockets are collected.The boxed specimens are removed fromthe field and taken to a lab where thethousands of pieces are carefully

washed. The pieces are then laid out inthe order they were taken from thepocket, where possible in rows, left sidetop and below it, left side bottom, and soon. Following this depending on pocketsize several months are invested infinding the missing fits and temporarily repairing the larger pieces.

After fitti ng, the bes t pi eces areselected for the lengthy cleaning process.Both chemical and mechanical meanshave been developed to remove the clay and Fe-Mn oxide overgrowths and stain-ing that coat the crystals. At this point,it is often discovered that the Fe-Mn ox-ides have penetrated the amazonite crys-tals. About half the pockets containspecimens that can never be satisfacto-rily cleaned and thus, are never broughtto market. Fortunately, some of the clay overgrowths and Fe-Mn staining is on thesurface and can be removed, allowing the natural colors of amazonite andsmoky quartz to be revealed.

Lucky Monday pocket shows up for the first time, Tim is measuring it and showing how deep it is. Quality of the crystals is still unknown at that stage of work. J. Dorris photos.

Crystals show up on the ceiling of the pocket. J. Dorris photo.

Tim opening pocket and checking quality of the specimens. J. Dorris photo.

Amazonite and smoky quartz in situ . J. Dorris photo.

Tim holding freshly collected first specimen containing smoky quartz and amazonite from the Lucky Monday pocket. Last photo showsthe specimen after first washing. Now it resides in J. Voelter collection. J. Dorris photos.

Idealized drawing of the pocket before it was collapsed and view of how it looked likewhen it was opened. J. Dorris drawing and photo.


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The final steps include reassem-bling the matched pieces and perma-nently repairing the pieces into finespecimens.

LUCKY MONDAY POCKET

A large pocket discovered on 13June 2011 was dubbed the Lucky Mon-day pocket because it was the silver lin-

ing to an otherwise, near-disastrousseason. It has proved to be one of themost exceptional pockets discovered inthe 140 years of collecting in the Crystal

Peak district. Although other notablepockets have been discovered such as:the Museum Pocket by Thelma Hurianekin 1981, the Keyhole Vug by Don Smith in1986, the Tree Root Pocket by The Col-lectors Edge in 1997, and several fromthe Smoky Hawk structure (Majestic,Smithsonian, Poker Chip, The 992), theLucky Monday pocket is exceptional dueto the size of the pocket, the vivid blueand lustrous nature of the amazonite

crystals, and the deep black, big and lus-trous smoky quartz. Many specimens of exceptional aesthetics and near-pristinecondition never seen before were pro-duced from this pocket.

The Lucky Monday pocket was ahorseshoe shaped cavity with each sideopening 0.75 m across and penetrating the wall for 1.5 m. The cavity averaged30 cm in thickness and in some areas, 45cm. Both sides of the shoe contained ex-cellent combination specimens; however,despite the larger than average numberof good groups, more than half of thepocket had been destroyed by naturalprocesse.

As usual, the cavity had rupturedand later collapsed, but sufficient mudand clay helped cushion the ceiling crys-tals as well as protect them from subse-quent secondary minerals and oxides.Most of the contents were loose and ex-tracted by hand. After the breakdown

was removed, the top plates were easily pulled free of the pocket clays. The bot-tom plates were more troublesome and

had to be chiseled free, using pneumaticchisels. About 60 percent of the pocket was filled with goethite rich clay, hadcrystal contacts of varying degrees, or

had been shattered, and produced nosignificant specimens. It took six days tocompletely excavate the pocket and packthe contents, which eventually filled 55flats (a box approximately 10 cm deep by 28 cm by 40 cm). Cleaning and piecing to-gether the loose pieces took over a yearand final cleaning and preparation tookanother six months.

The result after final preparation of the specimens was fourteen large mu-

seum quality specimens (over 10 cmplates). The largest specimen, dubbedthe Porcupine, measured 32 cm inlength and had seven major smoky quartz crystals reaching to 15 cm and

several smaller smoky quartz crystals ona bed of vivid blue amazonite crystals.Fifteen smaller museum quality speci-mens, between 7 and 10 cm bases, werealso recovered as well as approximately

50 small amazonite groups withoutsmoky quartz. Over 75 single smoky quartz, 5 to 15 cm, and 75 amazonitecrystals, 2 to 5 cm, were also recovered.The other contents were too damaged to

yield specimens but consisted of severalpounds of broken, gem-quality smoky quartz and amazonite rough.

Of particular note, a side pocket wasdiscovered that contained the first gen-thelvite crystals ever recovered in theCrystal Peak district. Even more sur-prising, one crystal was quite large forthe species, almost 5 cm.

MINERAL SPECIES FOUND IN THELUCKY MONDAY POCKET

Albite variety cleavelanditeCleavelandite is the platy variety of

albite feldspar. It formed as sparkly, lus-trous, euhedral crystal rosettes or lathssurrounding other pegmatite minerals inthe Lucky Monday pocket. The individ-ual blades are a centimeter in length andhave surrounded the bases or filled the

contacts between amazonite and smoky quartz crystals in attractive, snow-whitemounds and cushions on a few of thespecimens.

FluoriteFluorite occurred in the Lucky Mon-

day pocket in simple cubic crystal ag-gregates on top of other pegmatitecrystals as a later-stage mineral. Typi-cally in these pockets, the fluorite isetched but displays good luster. Color ispale green and blue green. One largeamazonite and smoky quartz specimenhas a 2 cm elongated fluorite of greenishcolor attached to a smoky quartz prismedge. Other fluorites were detached frommatrix and are not remarkable.

Genthelvite A pocket found adjacent to the

Lucky Monday pocket held the firstgenthelvite crystals found in the LakeGeorge district. These occurred as loose,lustrous crystals up to 5 cm across

in blocky, octahedral habit. Color isa dark maroon with reddish halos. Three

4 L c k " M o n d a " P o c k e t MINERALS ISSUE # 6

George Quist with freshly collected specimen. J. Dorris photo.Working in the Lucky Monday pocket, note pegmatite vein. Ch. Borland photo.

Freshly collected specimen. J. Dorris photo.

Specimens recovered from the pocket. J. Dorris photo.

Second opening of the pocket is showingup. Ch. Borland photo.

Abraham Velasco recovers first genthel-vite in the Crystal Peak area found in side

pocket of the Lucky Monday. P5M photo.

4.8 cm genthelvite crystal shown in photo above. J. Scovil photo.

Tim holding first important specimen collected from the Lucky Monday pocket known as Two Pillars. J. Dorris photo.

Two Pillars after cleaning. P5M photo.


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significant crystals and approximatelya dozen small fragments were recovered.

Goethite A yellow brown mass of goethite re-

placing a carbonate, likely calcite, wasfound in the central area of the pocket.Goethite often forms lustrous, silver tobronze colored, bladed sprays but also

frequently replaces carbonate crystals,forming dark brown or black rhombicpsuedomorphs. A one centimeter scale-

nohedral psuedomorph was found onamazonite matrix. All other goethite wasunremarkable.

Microcline variety amazonite Although microcline is very common

throughout the world, the blue green va-riety known as amazonite is recoveredfrom only a few areas. Those from thePikes Peak Batholith exhibit the bestcrystal form and color combination.Color is attributed to a small amount of lead ion in conjunction with structural

water in the presence of ionizing radia-tion. If the amounts vary too greatly orinsufficiently, the color is not as rich.Some evidence also suggests the slowercrystallizing pockets with longer radia-tion exposure are more likely to containbetter color as compared with the morerapidly crystallizing pockets. Addition-ally, microcline with a light body colorsuch as white, as compared to dark buff or gray, also gives rise to more vividly colored amazonite. For unknown rea-sons, the conditions at the Smoky Hawk

were ideal and the majority of pocketscontain richly colored amazonite.

Amazonite colors vary from pale todeep robin-egg blue. Hue and saturationrange from gray muddy colors to bright,

vivid colors. Until recently, the vast majority of amazonite crystals from theCrystal Peak district were known fortheir medium blue-green color, largely of mottled colors of gray green to brownishgreen, commonly with white splotches.Uniformly colored amazonite is very rareand is indicative of a slightly higher crys-tallization temperature. When the tem-perature drops, colorless albiteexsolution forms, creating a white mot-tling known as perthite. The deep, uni-form colors are so rare, many people find

it difficult to believe they are natural. A few noteworthy pockets foundthroughout the history of the region, andthe recent discoveries of vivid-coloredamazonite crystals on the Smoky Hawkstructure, are helping correct this per-ception.

The Lucky Monday pocket produced well-formed and sharply terminatedamazonite crystals averaging 2.5 cm butreaching 6 cm, occurring mostly indruses with smoky quartz crystals. Notwinned crystals were found. None dis-

played any white stripes or caps but they all displayed a bright, uniform blue green

color. Exceptional luster is exhibited onthe crystal domes and to a lesser extent,on the prism sides. Fortunately, only rel-atively minor Fe-Mn oxides and clay overgrowths were present and were eas-ily removed during cleaning resulting inexceptional amazonite crystals.

Smoky QuartzPikes Peak batholith smoky quartz

is prized for its very deep, near blackcolor. Most crystals exhibit a root beer

bottle brown in transmitted light. Thesmoky color is caused by traces of alu-


Porcupine, 32 cm in length (sic!) is probably the best known specimen of smokyquartz with amazonite from the Crystal Peak area. It was repaired from tens of small

pieces carefully collected by Tim. M. Pospisil collection. J. Scovil photo.

Tim proudly holding Porcupine aftercleaning was finished. K. Velasco photo.

Incredible Porcupine photograped in Tucson 2013. J. Gajowniczek photo.

Same specimen still in situ in the pocket(upside down above screwdriver termina-

tion) and in hand. Ch. Borland photo.

10 cm specimen from the pocket. Pinnacle 5 Minerals specimen. J. Calln photo.


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minum and the presence of ionizing ra-diation. Typical smoky quartz crystalsare elongated but relatively stubby.

About half exhibit normal or prismatichabit terminations. About half also have

prism faces that gradually taper to apoint (similar to the Tessin habit).Dauphin twinning, which is an indica-tor of a high temperature environment,is quite common but frequently difficultto identify. Similarly, the macromosaicstructure of the crystals that is revealedby sutures on the prism faces is another

high temperature indicator.It is rare to find smoky quartz crys-tals in the miarolitic cavities that do notdisplay at least some minor damage, es-pecially to the fragile terminations. Mostof the quartz is initially damaged during rupture shortly after pocket crystalliza-tion. In severe cases there are no re-maining, intact crystals found within apocket. Nearly all the smoky quartz crys-tals also display a satiny surface lusteras opposed to a glassy surface luster.This satin luster is thought to occur fromthe natural high fluorine content inthe pegmatite volatiles. Many smoky quartz crystals also exhibit later-stagecrystal growth, wherein subsequent fluidepisodes have caused renewed crystal-lization. Occasionally, this subsequentgrowth results in attractive specimens,but it can also become quite unattrac-tive, especially if the secondary quartzgrows over or is included with oxidesand clays.

The smoky quartz crystals fromthe Lucky Monday pocket occurred in

elongated prismatic crystals and display clean, sharp and lustrous, faces devoidof overgrowth and damage. Most haveundamaged terminations and also show surface patterns in the satin lusterthat indicates probable Dauphin twin-ning. They are transparent, gemmyroot beer bottle brown when backlitbut display as deep black. Smoky quartzcrystals range from 2.5 to 22 cm inlength and from 1 to 10 cm in diameter.These are easily some of the best quality smoky quartz ever recovered from thedistrict.

Combination SpecimensMost of the specimens from the

Lucky Monday are exceptional combina-tion specimens of smoky quartz withamazonite with a few having cleave-landite and fluorite associations as well.

In addition to the individual qualities of the associated species, the specimens incombination show superb qualities. Thecolor contrast of deep black to vibrantblue green is very strong. The size ratioof crystals is exceptional with the aver-age being two and a half to one. The lus-ter of both the smoky quartz and

amazonite is exceptional for the regionand the overall appearance shows strong aesthetics and balance, making thesespecimens highly desirable by collectors.

PERSPECTIVES

A small area on the Smoky Hawkstructure remains to be explored and

will likely be completed in 2013. It isexpected that mechanized operations

will produce one or two more high qual-ity pockets. However, each pocketdiscovery is marked by its own uniqueappearance and may not directlycompare to the Lucky Monday pocket.For example, a future pocket may

contain smaller amazonite crystals but with sharply contrasting white caps,or it may contain common microcline.

Will any future pockets equal the quality of the Lucky Monday pocket? Only timeand luck will tell.

J'*e(! L. DORRISP" ac$e 5 M" e)a$*,

Ma "+' S()" *, C'$')ad', USAe-%a"$: #'e@(" ac$e5%" e)a$*.c'%

Same specimens photographed in two diffrent lightings showing transparency of thequartz crystals. 12.5 cm in length. Pinnacle 5 Minerals specimen. J. Calln photo.

Unique, big and unrepaired specimen of big quartz with amazonites and fluorite crystal on the side freshly after extracting and after final cleaning, 23.6 cm in length. J. and G. Spann collection. J. Dorris and J. Scovil photos.

16 cm specimen with dominating big smoky quartz crystal. Astro Gallery specimen. J. Calln photo.

8 cm specimen from the pocket. Pinnacle 5 Minerals specimen. J. Calln photo.


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In our 30 years of mining, 2011 wasoff to the worst start of any season. Weknew if we did not find a great pocket, itcould be the end of our search for ama-zonite with smoky quartz.

Monday morning, 13 June, things were going badly. We could not start theJohn Deer 992 excavator. We triedstarter fluid, new fuel filters, new air fil-ters, pumped out fuel to drain the air,pumped out water, charged batteries,

and tried again. Nothing worked. Finally giving up, we brought the smaller JohnDeer 690 excavator into the main exca-

vation and began work where we hadearlier discovered a pegmatite with com-mon microcline. We had been working anew dig site on the Smoky Hawk claimfor several weeks and had yet to hit any-thing significant. With our main ma-chine, the 992 excavator now down, we

were facing a terrible season.My son Tim arrived and he and

George Quist (my machine operatorand mechanic) resumed work on themicrocline pegmatite. I headed up tothe camp to recharge some batteries andget some tools. While there, Iheard the smaller 690 excavatorstop. It meant either two things:

that they had paused to collect a pocket something good, or the excavator wasbusted as well something the oppositeof good (It broke down two weeks laterand remained down the remainder of theseason another major repair bill).

When I reached the excavation,I could see neither George nor Timand hollered down to see if they hadfound anything. I expected something like, Only microcline. No color had

yet shown in this section of the excava-tion.

Yeah, I got one Tim exclaimed. When I scrambled down to see, he was leaning back from a small blackopening to the right of the pegmatite they had been working, a huge grin on hisface. George had a rare grin on his faceas well.

I cant reach the back Timshoved in his arm to demonstrate.

But does it have color? I asked.Tim flipped me a piece of bright blue

amazonite. I stared in disbelief. Weeks without color, digging adjacent to a com-mon microcline pegmatite, and thenhere, on an entirely different pegmatite

was the opening to a miarolitic cavity,possibly a huge pocket with color.

Any crystals? Cant tell yet. But I got some

smoky shards .Tim handed me a chunk of glassy

smoky quartz. I immediately spotted theside of a crystal face. It was well formed.

We had a pocket!Tim was reaching in as far as he

could, trying to find an amazonite crys-tal. I knew why. More times than not, thepockets we find are so badly ruptured nocrystals remain. We fill buckets with bro-ken amazonite and smoky quartz but

not a single intact crystal. Hand me the pick.

At first I thought he might try tobreak open the opening some more notparticularly wise if crystals could bedislodged and broken. The openingappeared to be 15 cm across by 10 cmhigh. Instead, Tim inserted the pick han-dle to its hilt and sat back laughing.

Its freaking huge.I had to see. I shoved Tim aside and

peered in only to see an empty black void.

I need a measuring tape. In my truck on the side door.

George offered.I lit out for Georges truck and the

camera.There was still no evidence we had

quality crystals, but the size of thepocket was noteworthy, no matter what

we found. The color was excellent andthere was smoky quartz.

Shortly, I was back. Tim had rakedout a few more amazonite shards of good

color still no crystals. Some of thesmoky shards had some aragonite drip-pings and iron staining, meaning there

was a well-formed void.He inserted the tape measure. 60 cm incredible. Then 90 cm.

Unbelievable. He slid out more of thetape. It stopped at 1.16 m.

Its going to be near two meters. We all recognized the wall rocks

would slope downward and the pocket would dip. It could easily go anothermeter. It was freaking huge. But did wehave any crystals?

No one wanted to remove the bro-ken pegmatite to find out. Like an un-opened safe, the cavity could hold anunbelievable treasure, or it could beempty. It was nice to savor the thought of a treasure.

Finally, we got back at it. Using the690 excavator, George took more of thetop off and pushed the working face backso we didnt have any rocks falling on us.

I got the collecting flats. Tim hookedup the water.

Well, this is it I said. We beganpulling chunks of rubble away from theopening.

Slowly it enlarged until the sunlightfell inside. A pile of breakdown greetedus. There were a few amazonite shardsand smoky quartz shards, but no well-formed crystals, which, in a way, could

be good. We hoped the ceiling plates hadseparated and settled to the floor of thepocket. If the pocket held sufficient clay,the ceiling plates would have been pro-tected and be in good shape. If the pockethad held little clay, the forceful rupturing

Our Lucky Monday a great collecting story

J'*e(! L. DORRIS

Tim holding freshly collected specimen known as X, above photo of the same specimen after cleaning, 12 cm. S. Neely specimen. J. Dorris and J. Calln photos.

Freshly collected specimen. J. Dorris photo.

Another spectacular specimen from the pocket, 14.5 cm. J. Dorris photo.

Same specimen when dirty and after firstwash. J. Dorris photo.

Joseph Dorris (author) painting showing area near the Smoky Hawk claim.


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after pocket formation would have dam-aged the quartz crystals.

A few crystals remained attached tothe side.

Thats a good sign Tim pointedthem out.

But the quality did not look thatgreat. They were coated with oxides andaragonite drippings, possibly silicates,

which would be even worse. They werealso stubby and the amazonite was shat-tered.

The cavity mouth now open, Tim

started removing some of the break-down. Chunks of aplite and graphicgranite began showing. He began tossing out the chunks of pegmatite, looking forany crystal contacts. He fingered achunk of pegmatite about 5 cm acrossand began to toss it out. He hesitated.Now he pulled it back slowly, like un-sheathing a knife two knives two long smoky quartz came into view. He tippedthe piece up. The base was a mass of brightly colored amazonites. No damage.Perfect terminations. Unrepaired. Un-heard of. Later, we call it the Two Pil-lars.

We sat in stunned silence before wefilled the woods with our wild whooping.

If we did not find another specimenin the entire pocket, we had just savedour season.

This was our Lucky Monday .

We wanted to keep collecting, butnow had a problem. The pocket driftedinto the working face directly under oneof our topsoil pi les. Fortunately, it did notdrift in the direction of the 992 excavator

which was broken down above us severalmeters to the left. Yep, we found the 992pocket under the 992 excavator at sea-sons end.

We got to bury it and move thattopsoil pile I broke the obvious news.

Neither of us wanted to do so. Any-time we buried a pocket we risked ruin-ing some crystals and worse yet, hitting it with the excavator bucket when at-tempting to reopen it.

Begrudgingly, Tim and I packed thepocket with blankets and newspapersand then marked it with some flagging tape as telltale markers for when we

would unbury it.George took the small excavator

to the top of the hill and worked his way back down to get at the topsoil. Theday closed with him swinging the dirt afew meters to the side and below thepocket.

We spent the night rather worried. Although we were a couple of hundredmeters from the excavation, more thanonce we had had claim jumpers come induring the night to rob us. I checked thepistol more than once and took our dog,Baxter, out to check the perimeter a few times.

Its buried, dad Tim kept reas-suring me. And it was under a good 3.5m of rock. Thieves could dig all night and

never reach it. But having already lost amulti-thousand dollar pocket once, I wasimagining the worst.

Early morning, we had visitors. I was trying to be polite and showedthem around, but I was happy to seethem head over the hill to where they

were collecting. I wanted this pocketkept quiet.

Using the excavator, we reopenedthe pocket, using our hands to removethe last bits of dirt. The blankets andpacking had protected it perfectly. Webrought in the water so we could care-fully wash out the contents and keepfrom chipping any crystals. Already weknew the quality was superb. A goodnumber of the smoky quartz crystals wehad found had perfect terminations.

We took out about a dozen smallamazonite groups, some with smokies( smoky qua rtz ed.). Additionally, wecollect all the single crystals as some willbe reattached to matrix from which they have naturally separated. Painstakingly,

we catalogued and photographed theirlocation for helping us find these fitslater on. We also tried to collect pieces in 21 cm Behemoth specimen is one of the best known from the area. M. Pospisil collection. J. Gajowniczek and J. Budd photos.

Freshly extracted Behemoth. Ch. Bor- land photo.

Behemoth after first wash. Ch. Borland photo.

Specimen known as the Behemoth still in situ. Ch. Borland photo.

Amazonite with quartz in situ. Ch. Borland photo.

Joe (left), Ray Berry (center), and Tim examining Behemoth. Ch. Borland photo.


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the same order they were located in thepocket and packed them into the mineralflats in order.

In one section we began finding some exceptional smokies that were upto 12 cm in length and some beautiful 2

to 5 cm amazonites and small amazonitegroups. Very few of the crystals were inattached clusters, which was disap-pointing, but not surprising.

At this point, we avoided collecting the floor plates. If they were intact, we

would need to chisel under them andpop them up to remove them safely with-out damage. Often these plates are in

worse condition than the ceiling plates,although they are often larger and some-

what more intact. Mud, oxides, and sec-

ondary fluids tend to corrode the floorplates.

Crap. Goethite psuedomorphs Tim handed me a brown lump.

I took the piece an amorphousglob of yellowish brown dense yuck. A fragment of blue stuck out from it. Hehanded me more.

Its too thick to remove he said.I recognized he was right. We had

prayed we wouldnt run into this kind of problem.

Where does it seem to be lead- ing?

Off to the right side. The whole section is cemented together.

He backed out of the pocket, an-other chunk in his hands.

Well, what we got so far is good. I waved at the pieces we had collected.

Tim began gathering up the smok-ies, examining them. He took ahold of some of the amazonites and beganchecking for fits. He immediately founda couple.

These are all going to go to-

gether, he said excitedly. This is going to make one freaking huge plate.

He dove back into the pocket. We gotta get all the pieces.

He handed me every tiny scrap. Du-tifully, I wrapped them. The section he

was working eventually filled four flats.Later, these pieces did fit together.

The Porcupine came from this sectionof the pocket and consists of 38 fit sec-tions and crystals. It is arguably one of the finest specimens, if not the finest,from the Crystal Peak district.

We took turns collecting specimensuntil the days end. It looked like thepocket was about finished. Everything tothe right was cemented together exceptfor a section at the far end which we hadnot excavated. The left side had been col-lected. In the morning, we would work onthe floor plates. We again packed thepocket for the evening.

To get to the floor plates we had tocut the working face back on each side

of the pocket. That meant bringing thetop down to within a meter of the open-ing and then cutting the sides back to

where they extended beyond the lengthof the pocket. We also trimmed the frontuntil we were right up to the floor plates.

George began by cutting down thetop and then he cut the left side, search-ing for any pegmatite that drifted in thatdirection and trying to get beyond thecavity. Next, he began cutting about ameter to the right side of the pocket. Thefirst cut on the right exposed anotherpegmatite. It looked promising. I had himmove farther to the right and continuecutting until he no longer hit pegmatite.

This was incredible. Often when onepegmatite produced a pocket an adja-cent one would as well. It did not yetshow color, but the chunks of smoky quartz and pink feldspar were large.

Better give me a minute I sig-naled to George.

I worked the pegmatite with my pick, knocking loose some pieces. It keptenlarging. Tiny gaps appeared betweenthe crystals.

Its gonna open I shouted backto George. Tim was trying to examine theold cavity and now came over to investi-gate.

Its green I shouted. I wrenched

out some chunks of amazonite. This is going to open, Tim. I just know it. Weve been fooled before Tim

cautioned.George had come into the excava-

tion to watch. With the next swing of my pick, I

broke into a cavity, and pulling out a few chunks of pegmatite, a black hole staredback at us.

Its deep I said. I slid in a screw-driver. There was open space behind.

Its going in the direction of our other pocket. I observed. I pulled free somemore chunks, and then, there it was, aperfect glassy smoky quartz, identical tothose we had been pulling from the othercavity.

I turned and looked at Tim. He andI were thinking the same thing.

Theyre going to connect! Ishouted Theyre the same pocket!

Collecting was now going to becomea bit more problematic because there

was a greater danger for the ceiling tocollapse into the right pocket section, but

what a problem to have. I had Georgecontinue cutting the right side until wedetermined the extent of the right side.

We removed more from the top on the leftside and then all three of us, working to-gether, removed the heavy ceiling rocks,exposing the bottom plates on the leftside.

As it turned out, we discovered thebottom plates were mostly destroyed and

we recovered only a few minor crystals.The material on the right edge of the bot-

tom was encased in goethite and equally worthless. Only a small area toward theback remained promising.

Each night, we religiously packedany exposed pocket and buried it. Eachmorning, we unburied the pocket and

Freshly collected specimen during first bath, 10 cm. M. Oleszczuk collection. J. Dorris photo. Finished Forest specimen, 15 cm. E. Long collection J. Scovil photo.

Specimen known as Forest still in partsduring preparation. J. Dorris photo.

7,5 cm quartz with amazonite. J. Starr specimen. J. Budd photo.

Aesthetic 8 cm specimen from the pocket. J. Calln photo.

Same specimen as repaired one and still in pieces during preparation process.

J. and G. Spann collection. J. Calln and J. Dorris photos.


10/20


continued our work. My friend ChuckBorland arrived from Montana andoffered another set of welcome hands.Chuck customarily does most of thephotography and washes some of thepieces for checking fits and quality. Timis the prime person for excavating thepockets. I usually keep track of speci-mens, wrap, and log material. Georgeruns the water and the chipper whenused. But we all trade off as well. Whocould not help but want to reach in andpull out a fine specimen never beforeseen by a human?

We took more time than usual col-lecting and screening for fragments. Any missing tip could represent high valuelost. Any cleaved amazonite could becritical for a repair. Tim also spent moretime washing pieces and checking forfits. If they could be found in the field, itsaved time later on and often resulted inrecovering a specimen. Tim has an un-canny knack for memorizing the locationand shapes of pieces. The more hespends time studying the pocket, the

greater our chances are for fitting thespecimens back together later on. While Tim and George continued

collecting the left side, working fartherto the back and toward the connection

with the right side, Chuck and I began working the right side cavity. We workedfor only a few minutes before I exposed anice combination piece completely in-

tact. I also uncovered the tips of some

smoky quartz rising from the bottom of the pocket. They were in better conditionthan those that had been on the left side,

which meant there could be some nicefloor plates. Carefully, I packed this sec-tion so I could continue removing thebreakdown. Pulling out a couple morechunks, I broke through into the rear of the pocket. It extended into blackness forabout a meter. I was now certain the twocavities connected.

I had Tim pull out the next speci-men. It turned out to be incredible amultiple-termination quartz like a castle

with incredible amazonites and a fluoriteattached, and, it was unrepaired.

Tim pointed to a 5 cm smoky quartzpoking out from the floor rubble.

Want to pull out that one? Nah, you go ahead. I was asking

myself who cared about a 5 cm smoky.Gently, Tim checked the piece. The

entire floor moved. He tipped the pieceup, and out of the floor rose a behemothquartz crystal about 13 cm in length by 10 cm wide! Connected to it are other

small smokies with several nice ama-

zonites. This is a record for the CrystalPeak district, I told myself. It is thelargest smoky yet found of this quality

with quality amazonites. We later call it,The Behemoth.

We were fairy dancing. The incredi-ble pocket is continuing.

About this time, the great piecesmust have been giving off some crystal

vibes or something. The collectors who

had been visiting decided to return toour side of the mountain, another fieldcollector and his buddy came up the road

just to say hi, and my good friend, Ray Berry, came over to visit.

Now, dont go spilling the beans I cautioned. I was pretty certain they recognized they were seeing some of thefinest specimens ever collected in Col-orado. We have to clean them yet. I dont want the word getting out.

Well that worked all of about 5 min-utes. Congratulations poured in nonstopfor the next several weeks.

The next day, we continued to pullout some more great pieces, generally smaller. Eventually, we exposed and re-moved the right side floor plates. Some

were intact and were in better conditionthan those on the left.

The two cavities had now connectedand we found great crystals throughoutthe back section of the pocket. Unfortu-nately, the front of the right side wasshattered, as was the far back. There

was an abundance of single crystals, not

like the groups we had pulled out, butgood, nevertheless.

Tim kept assuring me Its okay, I can piece some of these together .

He was correct. One of the bestplates came from here, later called TheForest.

Tim continued working the finalsection.

Here, want to pull this one out? He backed out of the cavity.

Sure. I wasnt about to let an-other one get past me. Tim had exposedthe bottom of a potential crystal plate. It

was about 10 cm across and likely one of the final plates.

Carefully, I finished removing someof the surrounding rubble, washed the

material away with the water, and gently lifted on the specimen. It was loose. Still

I was careful not to wiggle the piece.Often a smoky quartz tip can be resting behind another crystal or be wedged be-hind some rubble and even a wiggle canchip the tip. I washed more, removing more bits of gravel and pegmatite untilthe piece was barely sitting in place.Carefully, I pulled it up and out. Holding it down but bringing it out to whereeveryone could see, I slowly turned itover. Many times wed be met with dis-appointment, thinking we had a goodgroup, only to find missing or damagedcrystals. This one was superb. A large, 7cm smoky connecting to a large, 7 cmamazonite, forming a v turned overinto view. Additional smoky quartz and

amazonite crystals surrounded it. An-other incredible piece from the incredi-ble pocket.

We finished the Lucky Monday Pocket the following day, finding somesmall groups but nothing significant.Having spent six full days collecting, Istill had the main excavator to repairand some other prospects to check. Wefilled the working face, hoping anotherincredible pocket would be found deeperin the mountain at a later time but real-izing we may have just found the mostspectacular pocket ever discovered inthe Crystal Peak district.

J'*e(! L. DORRISP" ac$e 5 M" e)a$*,

Ma "+' S()" *, C'$')ad', USAe-%a"$: #'e@(" ac$e5%" e)a$*.c'%

Tim and Joe proudly showing two great specimens recovered from the Lucky Monday pocket The Porcupine and The Behemoth. J. Gajowniczek photo.

The V after preparation, 21 cm. J. Dorris photo.

Last good specimen, known as V, collected from the Lucky Monday pocket still in situ. Ch. Borland photo.

The V still dirty just after extracting. J. Dorris photo.


11/20

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13/20

13L i d d i c o a t i t e s f r o m M a d a g a s c a r#6 ISSUE MINERALS

LOCATION AND GEOLOGY

Madagascar is very rich in peg-matites and gem deposits because of itscomplicated geological history. The cen-tral and eastern parts of Madagascar area shield built of Precambrian metamor-phic and magmatic rocks. In some areasthese rocks were heavily intruded by magma during the Pan-African Orogeny.In Madagascar, the consequence of this

long-lasting and multi-stage process isan abundance of large pegmatite fieldsand pegmatite rich areas of an extremely

varied chemical and mineralogical com-position.

Sahatany Valley is one of the mostfamous and best described pegmatitefields in Madagascar which is still pro-ductive. The valley is formed by the smallSahatany River and is about 30 kilome-ters long and quite wide. It is situated atthe foot of Ibity Mountain (2292 m high),

about 30 km SSW from Antsirabe, a rel-atively large town and the center for min-eral and gems dealing.

The center of the valley is about aone hour drive from Antsirabe by mainroad (RN 7) and then a local road to the

Ibity village. From Ibity it is about a onehour walk to reach the main pegmatitefield. Sahatany Valley is considered oneof the more easily accessible Malagasy mineral localities. The majority of local-ities in Madagascar are very difficult toreach even by 4x4 vehicle. For this rea-son, Sahatany Valley is one of the mostpopular destinations for mineral collec-tors and local and foreign dealers.

Geologically, Sahatany Valley is lo-cated in the eastern part of the Itremotectonic unit, which is composed of meta-morphic rocks including schists, quartz-ites, gniesses, and marbles. This wide

variety of rock types, each with a differ-ent degree of resistance to erosion,results in a diverse landscape thequartzites being the most resistant to

weathering build the high jagged Ibity and Kiboy Mountains, while the marblesand schists form gentle hills and valley bottoms.

The geology of the area is addition-ally complicated by the occurrence of granitoids and gneisses, probably com-posing an old crystalline basement un-

derlying the original sedimentary se-quence, and by the intrusion of gabbroicand granitoid plutons. Gem bearing peg-matites very likely belong to the samemagmatic cycle which generated grani-toid plutons, dated to be about 530 mya(Neoproterozoic age).

The Sahatany Valley pegmatite fieldextends over 150 square kilometers andcontains more than 100 large pegmatites

which are typical vein pegmatites hostedin the marbles. The majority of peg-matites occurring in the Sahantany

Valley are of the Rare Element Class(LCT family lithium-cesium-tantalum)

with dominating subtypes: lepidolite,

elbaite and danburite. A few of thembelong to the Beryl-Columbite Subtype.The pegmatites dip at various an-

gles, from almost horizontal to verticaland have a diverse relationship with thebedding of the host rocks, from con-cordant to discordant. They also rangein size from small (a few meters long) toquite large (several hundred meterslong).

Giant liddicoatites fromEstatoby pegmatite, Madagascar

Fede)"c' PEZZOTTA a d T'%a*/ PRASZKIER

Continued from page 1

An 11 cm crystal of multicolor liddicoatite from Estatoby. M. Oleszczuk collection. F. Pezzotta photo.

Sahatany Valley in central Madagascar isone of the most famous and productive

pegmatite fields. J. Gajowniczek photo.

Kids in the Sahatanny Valley are alwaysexcited to see white people visiting the

area. J. Gajowniczek photo.

2254 m

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Map of Madagascar showing inserts of the Sahatany Valley area and the location of the pegmatites in the area (white color) inclu-ding Estatoby pegmatite (red).

View of the central part of the Sahatny Valley with white dumps of the Tsarafara and Estatoby workings. J. Gajowniczek photo.

View of Estatoby workings (white dumps) and Vietnam workings located above. J. Ga- jowniczek photo.


14/20

L i d d i c o a t i t e s f r o m M a d a g a s c a r MINERALS ISSUE # 6

Some of the pegmatites in the areaare very rich in gem crystals what hasresulted in extensive prospecting and

mining. The most famous mineralsoccurring in them are certainly tourma-lines forming multi-colored, gemmy, lus-trous and well-terminated crystals. Theother varieties of colored tourmalinessuch as red, green, pink, blue, yellow and

violet are also well known from the area. Additional gemstones mined in the val-ley are beryls (pink, blue and poly-chrome), danburite, and kunzite. As a

result of extensive gemstone mining, anumber of other rare and interesting species have been found (manandonite,bityite, rhodizite, londonite, behieriteetc).

The most important gem-producing area is located in the central part ofthe Sahatany Valley near the village of

Ankadilava, an area dominated by

Mount Ilapa. The Tsarafara and Esta-toby pegmatites, located there, are partof a large pegmatitic system, extending on the surface for over one kilometer inthe foothills of Ilapa Mountain. Themines in the area are divided into twogroups: Tamponilapa (which means"the top of Ilapa Mountain) and An-tanetinilapa (which means the culti-

vated fields of Ilapa). The second groupincludes Tsarafara (which means "thebeautiful Fara" Fara was a woman who

directed mining works and the buying of gemstones in the seventies), and Esta-toby (which means "the field to theeast"). Diggings on the side of the hilldominating Etatoby are known as Viet-

nam .Most of the gem bearing pegmatites

of the central part of the Sahatany Val-ley are claimed by a Malagasy company (Ruby-Red Madagascar s.r.l.) based in

Antananarivo. This company is currently operating two mines one located in thenorthern Tsarafara, and the second at

Ampatsikahitra, located on the southernside of Ilapa Mountain. In addition to itsown commercial operations, the com-pany also allows members of the localpopulation to conduct several small scalemining projects. However, activity by miners, brokers, and dealers from out-

side the local area is prohibited. This re-striction is strictly enforced by the localauthorities including the police.

DISCOVERY AT ESTATOBY

The majority of the workings in theSahatany Valley are located in heavily eroded (kaolinized) pegmatites, whichare quite easy to dig. Therefore, mostminerals are extracted as loose crystals.Multi-mineral specimens are found muchmore rarely. Because of the very primi-tive methods of mining, plus the focus ongemstones, the majority of mineral spec-imens come out damaged or incomplete.

Also the Estatoby pegmatite is heavily eroded, at least in the main part.

Almost all workings in the valley aresmall very primitive shafts operated by afamily or a group of miners. Sometimesshafts are over 30 meters deep, with no

ventilation. Candles and primitive lampsare used for lighting. Tools are usually

very simple hand tools. Areas with intense exploitation are

usually covered by snow-white dumps(because of kaolinite) and today the arealooks like a battlefield with scores of holes and dumps etc.

Before 2012 Estatoby was charac-terized only by some superficial work-ings in colluvial and eluvial depositsformed by the erosion of the pegmatitic

veins outcropping on the side of the hill(Vietnam), and the erosion of some peg-matitic veins existing at depth. These

workings produced a minor quantity of

gem-quality polychrome tourmaline andpale pink spodumene (kunzite). Below

the colluvial and eluvial deposit, a few pits in the past encountered a kaolin-inzed pegmatite, but without finding any-thing of interest.

However in June 2012, a group of seven local miners directed by a wellknown and experienced miner namedPier started working a pit. The prospect

14

Group of multicolored liddicoatite crystals photographed on the front of the car right after they were collected in the mine. F. Pezzotta photo.

Workings in Estatoby. J. Gajowniczek photo.

Woman sifting kaoline, product of wea-thering feldspar and mica, looking for

gem fragments of tourmalines. J. Gajow- niczek photo.

Whole families are working for gems inSahatany Valley. Usually men are workingunderground and women and kids are

sifting dump material. J. Gajowniczek photo.

Workings in Estatoby with snow-whitedumps colored by kaoline clay. J. Gajow-

niczek photo.

Workings in Estatoby with numerous primitive shafts. J. Gajowniczek photo.

One of many primitive shafts in Estatoby. J. Gajowniczek photo.

Miners working in Estatoby. J. Gajowni-czek photo.


15/20


followed traces of polychrome tourma-line which formed a thin vein dipping ata high angle into the kaolinized peg-matite. During the second week of June,at a depth of about 8 meters the thin vein

brought the miners to a coarse grainedsub-horizontal partially kaolinized, peg-matitic lens which was rich in cleve-

landite aggregates and large blades of pink-purple lepidolite. Digging insidethis lens they broke into a large pocketfilled with whitish clay, from which they started recovering large crystals of poly-chrome tourmaline. During the first day of working the pocket, they found over 30kg of crystals, including one specimen 26cm long weighing 4.6 kg. This crystal hadexceptionally sharp and lustrous facesand strong color variation (see descrip-tion below). It is one of the two best poly-chrome tourmaline crystals ever foundin Madagascar. The large size of the

crystals from this pocket is completely unusual for the locality and for this areain general.

Since the pocket extended in all di-rections downdip, the pit soon becametoo narrow and the pocket began to col-lapse. Therefore, the next day they de-cided to abandon the pit and to dig asecond much larger one nearby. Unfor-tunately, they were unable to keep thediscovery secret. A few days later while

working the second nearby pit, they weresurrounded by other local miners whohad heard of the discovery and rushed tostart developing pits of their own.

In one week of hard work Pier andhis team mined many crystals from thepocket, but since the cavity extendedhorizontally for several meters, at least

two other groups of miners were alsoable to reach the same pocket from otherdirections. The three groups of minersfought over who would collect newcrystals from the pocket. In spite ofthis dispute, many more crystals wererecovered, including one weighing 5.2 kg of the same superb quality as the firstone. A large quantity of tourmalinerough of carving quality was also recov-ered. The total production of the pocket

was about 70 kg of crystals, with individual crystals weighing from a few hun-dred grams to over 7 kilos, and about 300kilos of carving quality tourmalinerough. Only a small number of the recov-ered crystals were collector quality.Many were too dark or were naturally damaged or incomplete.

During a single two week period,over 200 miners came to work in the Es-

tatoby, an area of less than 1000 squaremeters. At least 300 more people came tothe area trying to take advantage of thenewly discovered tourmaline. Many primitive shops and bars grew up aroundthe workings. However, most of the pro-duction of the pocket was controlled by local dealers who had entered into part-nership with the miners. During the nexttwo months, about 1.5 tons of rough tour-

Unique photo of miners inside the workings in Estatoby extracting one of the worlds finest crystals of liddicoatite. G. Rakotonirina photo.

Unique photo of miners inside the workings in Estatoby extracting one of the worlds finest crystals of liddicoatite. G. Rakotonirina photo.

Unique photo of miners inside the workings in Estatoby extracting one of the worlds finest crystals of liddicoatite. See photo of this crystal in the left lower corner of this page. G. Rakotonirina photo.

23 cm in length (sic!) and over 5 kgcrystal of liddic oatite, one of the b est

from the find, sho wn also at the photos ab ove when extracted. Because of itsthickness, it is very difficult to backlightto see strong color zonation. J. M. Shaw collection. G. Rakotonirina photo.

Big, gemmy multicolor liddicoatite crystal from the find, weight 530g. K. Neumanncollection and photo.

Miner lowered down to the shaft . J. Ga- jowniczek photo.

Miners working in narrow tunnels following pegmatite collecting fragments of gemmy rubelites. M. Lorenzoni photo.


16/20

L i d d i c o a t i t e s f r o m M a d a g a s c a r MINERALS ISSUE # 6

maline were recovered and traded lo-cally, but only a very limited quantity of small (up to a few hundred grams) tour-maline crystals was found in some small

satellite pockets.By September 2012 the number of miners had dropped to about 50 andthereafter gradually declined to the

25-30 miners who currently work themine (May 2013). Further productionfrom this area will be hampered by ground water inflow into the pits whichmakes the use of primitive mining meth-ods impractical.

The lack of surface exposures, andthe poor exposures at depth in the pits,make it difficult for geologists to developa model for extending this productivezone. Therefore, the future potential of this place remains unknown.

MINERALOGY

The mineralogy of this pegmatiteseems to be very simple, and the miner-als found in the pockets are the sameminerals which compose the coarse

grained pegmatitic rock. The following minerals are present: milky white to palequartz var. citrine, microcline (more orless corroded to spongy aggregates),albite variety clevelandite, lepidolite inlarge blades, tourmaline ranging in colorfrom dark green-brown at the core ofthe base to multicolored, and deeplycorroded large crystals of danburite.Rarely, small octahedral crystals of apyrochlore-group mineral have beenobserved both frozen in the rock and asinclusions at the base of tourmaline crys-tals.

Estatoby tourmalines are impres-sive for their size, sharpness, andexceptionally complex color zoning. Thecrystals are typically very glassy andtransparent but the largest crystals,because of their size, can be fully appre-

ciated only with strong backlight.From a study of the specimens pro-duced it is clear that at least two largebut different cavities (likely close to oneanother) were encountered. Two typesof crystal morphology and two types of color zoning are present: the first type,

which appears in the first Pier find, ischaracterized by a large pedion face atthe termination, modified on the sides by small faces of trigonal pyramid, and by adeeply red growth sector of limited thick-ness at the termination; the second typeis characterized by dominating pyrami-dal faces at the termination, with a smalltriangular pedion face at the top, and by a much thicker deeply red growth sectorat the termination. Crystals of the sec-ond type are in general less elongated. Itis important to note that, in both cases,the termination corresponds to the antil-ogous pole of the crystals.

Three different sectors can be dis-tinguished in the largest complete crys-tals. Each sector includes about onethird of the length of the crystal.

When the lower sector is viewedthrough the prism faces, it appears to bedark reddish-brownish in color, and ischaracterized by a zoning developedboth across the c axis and in the direc-tion of complex and steep terminationfaces. This sector is typically suitable forcutting nice zoned slices, which have alarge vivid red core with a centereddarker triangle, surrounded by a multi-colored thick sector with numerousgrowth zones of green, yellow, pink, andred.

The intermediate sector is a ratherhomogenous vivid green to yellow-green

16

Multi-color liddicoatite crystal, weight 800g F. Pezzotta photo.

One of the big multi-color liddicoatite crystals, 11.4 cm in length. M. Oleszczuk collec-tion. J. Gajowniczek photo.

Same cluster as shown in the photo onthe left revealing a differnt color when

backlit from a different angle. Watzl Minerals specimen. J. Calln photo.

Simillar specimen photograhed when still dirty shortly after it was collected. J. Ga-

jowniczek photo.

Ajoined crystals of liddicoatite with strong color zonation, 5.5 cm in length. A. Watzl Jr. specimen and photo.

Elongated liddicoatite crystal from one of the side pockets showing different colors

and habit, 11.4 cm in length. M. Olesz-czuk collection. J. Gajowniczek photo.

Big cluster of liddicoatite crystals showing strong color zonation when backlighted, 13 cm in length. Watzl Minerals specimen. A. Watzl Sr. photo.


17/20


color, and represents a growth zonedeveloped mostly in the direction of thec axis.

The upper sector is characterizedby a growth zone only in the direction of the c axis, with large pedion faces,resulting in a strongly polychrome ap-

pearance looking through the prism

faces. In a few centimeters it is possibleto observe tens of thin and sharp colorsectors, with different varieties of green,

yellow, pink, and red color, sharply over-grown by a thick sector in which red to

vivid red color is dominant.Different crystal morphologies and

modifications of the color zoning havebeen observed in the smaller crystalsdiscovered in the satellite pockets.

All crystals from the main and satel-lite pockets are characterized by very good luster, great clarity includingcompletely clean gemmy parts, very strong striations developed along prismfaces, and sometimes superb triangularetching/growth figures on the pedionfaces.

Analyses of several fragments of tourmaline crystal from the find (EDSJeol electron microprobe in the labora-tories of the Natural History Museum of Milan) confirmed a significant amount of Ca and F, but only a limited amount of Na, confirming that fluor-liddicoatite isdominant in these crystals.

The characteristics of the crystalsfrom this exceptional find at Estatoby make them the best and most spectacu-lar tourmalines ever found in Madagas-

car. Specimens from this find are among

the best liddicoatites in existence.

CONCLUSION

Mining continues in the Sahatany Valley and in the Estatoby pegmatite.There is no way to know if a similar

pocket will be ever found, but there is agood chance that smaller pockets withsmaller crystals may be found in the fu-ture.

Fede)"c' PEZZOTTAM *e' d" S+')"a Na+ )a$e,

M"$a , I+a$e-%a"$: f(e//'++a@ a!''.c'%

T'%a*/ PRASZKIER S(")"fe) M" e)a$*, Wa)*/a a, P'$a d

e-%a"$: +'%@*(")"fe)%" e)a$*.c'%

Liddicoatite crystal with strong color zonation, 6.3 cm in length. A. Watzl Jr. spe-cimen and photo.

Doubly terminated liddicoatite crystal from one of the side pockets showing different colors and habit, 6.4 cm in length.Spirifer collection. J. Scovil photo.

Liddicoatite crystal from the Estatoby find with skeletal termination offered for sale inthe Sahatany Valley. J. Gajowniczek photo.

27 cm in length (sic!), this is the biggest and probably the best liddicoatite crystal from the find, strongly backlighted it is showing incredible color zonation. Watzl Minerals specimen. A. Watzl Sr. photo.

Etching figures on pedion termination of the big liddicoatite crystal. M. Oleszczuk collection. J. Gajowniczek photo.


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minerals 6 internet

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