Billietite (incredibly rare) with Sklodowskite (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

The Shinkolobwe Mine is world famous for its superb examples of various uranium species and is the type locality for 38 species, which is quite significant in the minerals world, as only 7 other localities in the world . Two of those species are Billietite and Sklodowskite, both featured in this piece. This thumbnail / micro specimen hosts gorgeous, gem quality, glowing orange colored pseudohexagonal (orthorhombic) crystals of the incredibly rare hydrated barium uranium hydroxide Billietite which are associated with bright yellow colored acicular "sprays" of Sklodowskite on dark brown-black Rutherfordine on matrix. The piece is best seen with magnification, but I had a blast looking at it under the microscope. Billietite was named after Valère Louis Billiet, the Belgian crystallographer who was killed by an SS officer in WWII, and Sklodowskite was named after the two-tine Nobel Prize winner Marie Sklodowska-Curie for her innovative work studying radioactivity. A nearly impossible specimen to find in today's market, dating back at least 50-60 years, and a must have for any rarities collector or a fan of minerals from the type locality. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#10320). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).