Ferberite (twin)

Item Description

I think the finest twinned Ferberites in the world are found at the Tasna Mine. This mineral shows up in the literature as "Wolframite", which was supposed to be an intermediary species between Ferberite and Hubnerite, but has since been discredited. This piece is an attractive large miniature / small cabinet sized twinned crystal showing the classic, "butterfly" twinning along the a (100) face. The piece is hefty and stout with sharp, jet-black, well-formed faces. There is a lovely contrast between smooth faces and stepped etching on the front of the piece. The piece is in great shape (nearly damage free on the display side) but it is contacted on the base / back where it was removed from the pocket wall. You have to understand that the nature of these crystals does not lend to many good quality specimens. Most are broken or destroyed underground, so this is a very impressive piece for what it is. It should be noted that it is becoming very difficult for us to obtain good twinned crystals of Ferberite from Bolivia have as the miners do not take care to save the crystals, and the rising price of tungsten allows for perfect crystals to be thrown into the crusher and destroyed for the mere value of their ore. Priced in the inventory at $950.