Kambaldaite (TYPE LOCALITY)

Item Description

The Otter Shoot Mine in Australia is known for its rare secondary nickel minerals, including Kambaldaite, for which it is the TYPE LOCALITY. Green microcrystals of Kambaldaite, in two habits, sit on one side of the matrix, and there are areas of lighter green Gaspéite on top of those. This is not an unusual combination for the locality, and the varying shades of green add to the aesthetics of this thumbnail. The Otter Shoot Mine is within the Juan Complex, and sometimes you will see the names interchanged. Specimens such as this fine thumbnail appear to have been extracted from the oxidized zone in the early 1980's when an interest was taken in the rare species it contains, in particular Kambaldaite. Old label, we know not where from. From the collection of East Coast collector, George Elling, specializing in historic minerals of the East Coast and minerals from the development of old European mineralogy.