| 10 Rows |
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 Cassiterite
This single complex cassiterite crystal comes from Zinnwald, Bohemia, Czech Republic and is over an inch and a half long. Thanks to Suzanne's (Bumps Fine Art) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
Cassiterite and matte-finish pyrite from Viloco, La Paz, Bolivia. Thanks to Anne & Charles Steuart's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
A shiny twin cassiterite crystal from Linópolis, Divino das Laranjeiras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Thanks to Joanne Dionne's (The Mineral Mall) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 2 |
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 Cassiterite
Another cassiterite from Linópolis - this cluster's a thumbnail. Thanks to Greg Meyers' (Greg's Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
A reddish-gray cassiterite miniature cluster from the La Chojlla Mine, Sur Yungas Province, La Paz, Bolivia. Thanks to Richard Dale's (Dale Minerals International) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Cassiterite
More Bolivian cassiterite - this miniature cluster with quartz comes from Viloco in La Paz. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images! |
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| Row 3 |
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 Cassiterite
This one from the same location's about twice the size. Thanks to Anne & Charles Steuart's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Cassiterite
A small cabinet specimen of lustrous cassiterite crystals and twins on muscovite mica from Sichuan Province, China. Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
This is an odd cassiterite miniature from Llallagua, Bustillos Province, Potosi, Bolivia - very small crystals line the microvugs in what appears to be massive cassiterite. There's also unidentified small pinkish-tan crystals here and there. Thanks to the North Star Minerals' table at the 2000 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! |
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| Row 4 |
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 Cassiterite
Transparent in a few places and translucent in the rest, this twinned cassiterite thumbnail comes from Viloco, La Paz, Bolivia. The matrix also has tiny tourmalines and beautiful small white glossy flattened rosettes of cleavelandite. Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen and the images! | |
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 Cassiterite
This is a textbook tetragonal thumbnail crystal of opaque cassiterite from Madagascar. Thanks to the MFG Auction Co.'s auction for the specimen and the image! |
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 Cassiterite
A thumbnail of waterworn massive cassiterite from Miaragua, Pelon, Bolivia. Thanks to Ken DeMary's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 5 |
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 Cassiterite
A large, nicely terminated single thumbnail crystal of cassiterite from the Yunnan Province of China. Thanks to Tony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
A miniature of lustrous cassiterite crystals on a matrix of zinnwaldite mica from Mount Xuebao, near Ping Wu, Sichuan Province, China. These classic cassiterite crystals show a remarkable resemblance to the ones found at Zinnwald, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. Thanks to Tony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
A gorgeous bright intergrown miniature cluster of cassiterites from Ximeng County, Yunnan, China. Thanks to Ed Reznichenko's (Fairfax Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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| Row 6 |
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 Cassiterite
A big (2.5 inch) cassiterite crystal from the Hunan area of China. There's some muscovite on the back and an unknown transparent light-yellow crystal (larger image, closeup, bottom row, center). Thanks to Yinan Wang's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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 Cassiterite
Golden yellow blades (and smaller white ones) of cassiterite, a very nice quartz crystal, and tiny copper-colored hexagonal plates of pyrrhotite (larger image, bottom row, right) cover the matrix of this small cabinet specimen from Minas Gerais, Brazil. The habit is a very rare one and the color is also uncommon - cassiterite, though white when pure, usually is darker. Thanks to Mike Giammatteo's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Thanks also to David Von Bargen of the MSA for confirmation that it is, indeed, cassiterite. | |
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 Cassiterite
A beautiful thumbnail of twinned cassiterites from Mexico. Thanks to Joan Tucker's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 7 |
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 Cassiterite
An excellent sharp, glossy cassiterite crystal from the Yunlong tin deposit (Lin Yang Mine?), Yunnan Province, China. Thanks to John Sobolewski's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
An interesting miniature of drusy microcrystalline cassiterite on quartz from Chorolque, Polori, Bolivia. The Cerro Chorolque mining area is famous for its cassiterite epimorphs - this may be one; the underside of the specimen (larger image, top and bottom right) show a cassiterite-coated cast (and fascinating deposition layers), probably after pyrite. Thanks to Ken DeMary's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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 Cassiterite
A miniature of brilliant "ruby" cassiterites in matrix from the famous Elsmore Tin Mine, New South Wales, Australia. Thanks to Tony Smith's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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| Row 8 |
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 Cassiterite
A large thumbnail cassiterite crystal from Pingwu, Sichuan Province, China. |
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 Cassiterite
An old! (1943) thumbnail of cassiterite crystals and magnetite from Lincoln, South Carolina. Thanks to Jennings "Beau" Gordon's (Jendon Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite, var.
Sparable Tin
This thumbnail of tiny cassiterite crystals in massive dark green chlorite is from Wheal Charlotte, Perranuthnoe, Cornwall, Great Britain and was collected in April 2002. There's a fascinating etymology behind the varietal name "sparable tin" - the steeply pyramidal terminations of the Cornwall cassiterites (in contrast to the more typical flatter terminations elsewhere) derived their name from the sparable nails used by cobblers to prevent wearing down of shoe soles (much like the more modern cleats). Sparable nails, in turn, were named for their resemblance to "sparrow bills". Thanks to Steve Cantiello's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 9 |
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 Cassiterite
A fascinating colorful miniature of cassiterite crystals and other minerals - the tag (larger image, lower right) says "Tanapaca Mine, Brazil", but I can't find that mine in Brazil. MinDat shows a Tanapaca Mine a few miles NW of the more famous Viloco Mine. It was acquired in the 1960s by the late Donald L. Schuder of Purdue University and was part of his collection. Thanks to David Schuder's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! |
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 Cassiterite
This is an excellent small cabinet specimen of beautiful black translucent cassiterite crystals in a micaceous granite matrix from New South Wales, Australia - probably from the Elsmore mine in Gough County. Thanks to Chris Pauli's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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 Cassiterite,
var Needle Tin
Tiny red-brown acicular sprays of "needle tin" in a quartz matrix comprise this miniature from the Tin Stope at the Majuba Hill Mine, Pershing County, Nevada. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images! |
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| Row 10 |
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 Tantaliferous
Cassiterite
The Carmelita Mine near Warner Springs in San Diego County, California is the home of a new, rare tantalum-bearing cassiterite - this miniature contains a few rough crystals in a feldspar matrix. Thanks to Erik Cordova's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite,
var. Wood Tin
This miniature of the wood tin variety of cassiterite is from Potosi, Bolivia (probably Santiaguillo). Thanks to Wright's Rock Shop's table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! |
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 Cassiterite
This is the only important tin ore (from Viloco, Bolivia, where most of today's tin is mined). The crystals are light to dark brown and black; some of the lighter ones are translucent (and because they're tetragonal, there's some polarization of transmitted light through them). This miniature is really beautiful and heavy - cassiterite's one of the heaviest non-metallic-appearing minerals. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image! | |
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