Oosterboschite and Trogtalite, ex (Belsky Coll.)

Item Description

Oosterboschite and trogtalite are very rare selenides, with the former having palladium and copper and the latter having cobalt. The famed Musonoi is the Type Locality for Oosterboschite. This piece is from the Howard Belsky Collection, who collected many rare species. We believe the splendent gray crystals on one end surrounded by a green mineral are the oosterboschite. The quartz matrix holds several vugs richly lined with gemmy, green cuprosklowdoskite needles. The brown crystals richly lining one vug could be oxidized trogtalite, as MINDAT lists this species as being rose-violet. X-ray work would be needed to confirm species identifications in a normal case but, as this is from the Belsky Collection, its pretty certain to be legitimate. He had his own analytical setup and did much work with friends in museums, specializing in rarities.