Nickelskutterudite (formerly Chloanthite) pseudomorph after Native Silver

Item Description

A wonderful specimen of what was labeled a Chloanthite pseudomorphing after Native Silver from the historic Schlema-Hartenstein District in the Ore Mountains of Saxony. Technically, "Chloanthite" is no longer a valid specimen, is now regarded as an arsenic-deficient variety of Nickelskutterudite or simply as a synonym for Nickelskutterudite. This piece features attractive "herringbone"-style formations of what were originally Native Silver, but have now been replaced by Nickelskutterudite. A bit of the matrix has been etched away to better expose the pseudomorphs. The best crystals are fairly small, and best seen with magnification, and we've photographed the piece with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality. A nice specimen of this classic material from Germany.