Ferberite

Item Description

Here is a wonderful specimen of Ferberite from a discovery in 2003 at the classic locality at Tasna. This species was sometimes previously referred to as "Wolframite", which was supposed to be an intermediary species between Ferberite and Hubnerite, but has since been discredited. This piece features fine quality, jet-black, bladed crystals of Ferberite measuring up to 3.1 cm aesthetically set on matrix with minor Quartz crystals. The overall quailty of the piece is good for Tasna, with notably sharp faces, good luster and the beautiful form. The piece does have a few incomplete crystals, but is still a good quality specimen for what it is. Good specimens of Ferberite from Bolivia have becoming increasingly difficult to obtain in recent years as the price of tungsten ore has driven the miners to throw all the Ferberite into the crusher, causing thousands of specimens to be lost forever. It is VERY difficult to obtain specimens of Ferberite from Tasna these days. You don't see many pieces like this one from Tasna, so if you're in the market for a display specimen of Ferberite, don't miss out.