HMT02 Henmilite
Fuka mine, Fuka, Bicchu-cho, Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture, Chugoku Region, Honshu Island, Japan
6.2x 5.4x 5.0 cm
$580
A beautiful and very rich example of very rare henmilite, from the type locality in Japan. The white matrix beautifully contrasts with the inky violet blue color of the henmilite crystals, which are scattered on a couple sides of the specimen.
Henmilite is a rare borate that was first discovered in 1981, at mine that operated primarily to collect calcium carbonate for use in toothpaste. This piece (and pretty much all others you are likely to see) come from a 2004 find made by members of a Japanese mineral club that had been allowed to collect in the mine. Today these samples are exceedingly rare, and even micros are somewhat expensive.
