Sigloite with Paravauxite, Metavauxite and Ferrivauxite (very rare)

Item Description

This is a great cabinet sized specimen featuring good quality, very rare, attractive, sharp bladed crystals of light green color Paravauxite and tan color Sigloite on matrix. Sigloite forms as an alteration of Paravauxite, so you can see the process taking place before your eyes on this piece. Additionally there are some tiny white/colorless crystals of Metavauxite that you can see with a loupe, along with "rust" colored crystals of the newly approved species, Ferrivauxite. This specimen is from the type locality for all four species! Mark Chance Bandy described Paravauxite crystals in his book "Mineralogy of Llallagua, Bolivia". He states that Paravauxite is the most abundant of all the "Vauxites" from this mine, and with that said, you almost never see specimens, especially pieces that are larger than thumbnails available on the market with such a rich coverage of crystals. This piece is a great example of the prismatic, sheaf-like parallel growths that Mr. Bandy described. From the collection of Daniel ("Dan") W. Behnke (July 31, 1932 - January 20, 2020) of Glenview, Illinois. Dan was an Associate Photographer of both the Mineralogical Record and Rock and Minerals magazines. He served as the Micromount chairman of the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies from 1981 to 1988. He was elected to the National Board of Directors of the Friends of Mineralogy in 1989, and the Micromounters Hall of Fame in 2007. He was a beloved member of the mineral collecting community, most notably for his supreme skill at photomicrography. If you've ever seen any of Dan's micro photos on mindat.org, it's easy to see why he was one of the best in this field. You can read his obituary at https://www.nhscotthanekamp.com/obituaries/Daniel-W-Behnke?obId=10633628