Rutile (Shields Flynn Coll.)

Item Description

Brilliant lustre on this sculptural, heavily striated wine-red to mahogany-brown rutile prism from the famous and extinct Onganja Mine. Both ends are partially terminated and partially contacted. Rutile was a relatively common accessory, but specimens are RARE and are seldom on the market. Onganja is renowned for world-class cuprites from the famed 1973 find, plus outstanding copper and calcite specimens. Mining started here in about 1900 and ceased in 1974. See the fine article in the 1996 Mineralogical Record issue, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 85-97. Choice and very uncommon rutile from the Shields Flynn Collection.