Fluorita Violeta
Fluorita is a mineral with formula CaF₂, in the Haluros group. This specimen comes from La Cabaña (filón Ana), Berbes, Ribadesella, Asturias, España and joined the Terrium collection in 1981.
Description
Yin of Berbes. Barite emerging between fluorite. Vertical cluster of violet cubes with growth steps and internal zoning; laminar barite on the right side on which fluorite has grown.
History of this specimen
A piece of double lineage and long history. I first saw it at the Vigo Mineral Fair and recognised it at once as the twin of 0056. Together they form the Yin-Yang of the Berbes paragenesis—one from the barite, the other from the fluorite—two complementary pieces that should not be separated. This one, specimen 0057, before reaching me belonged to the personal collection of Hugo Rodrigues and, before him, to a private individual who had acquired it at the Soler Pujol house in Barcelona, which was one of the classic scientific establishments of the peninsula until its closure in 1991. Though it began in the early 20th century as a taxidermy and natural curiosities workshop, it was mineralogically very active between 1940 and 1970, providing specimens to schools and universities. The labels with typewriter typography and serrated edge, like the one this piece still retains, belong to its last period and date to c. 1979.
About Fluorita
Fluorite is a cubic calcium halide composed of the most reactive and most electronegative element known: fluorine. With seven electrons in its outer shell, the atom sits one step short of full stability (the noble-gas configuration), which drives its strong tendency to gain an electron. It can readily strip electrons from almost any other element, turning that extreme reactivity into balanced structures such as fluorite.
About the locality
If there is barite, it is not from the mine—and as there is, this piece is from the vein. In Berbes there is a historical tangle of names: the mine and the vein share the name, Ana, but they are not the same. La Cabaña, Cantera Los Cobayos (La Paredona), El Frondil, Cuetu L’Aspa, Cueto I/II/Norte, Bloque IV, La Gusteriza/Busteriza, etc. are open cuts on the vein, not the underground mine. This is the typical piece from the classic geodes of the 1980s that yielded such good specimens.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0057
- Composition
- CaF₂
- Name
- Fluorita
- Variety
- Violeta
- Group
- Haluros
- Category
- Lucimera
- Associations
- barita
- Mine
- La Cabaña (filón Ana)
- District / Municipality
- Berbes
- Province
- Ribadesella
- Region
- Asturias
- Country
- España
- Size (cm)
- 5 x 4 x 3.5
- Weight
- 40 g
- Acquired
- 1981
- Ex-collection
- Soler Pujol > Hugo Rodrigues
- Etymology
- From Latin "fluere", for its use as a flux.
- Quality
- Buena
- Value trend
- Al alza
Related specimens
- Abellaíta — España
- Abernathyita — España
- Abernathyita — España
- Abernathyita — España
- Aerenita — España
- Aerinita (fibrosa) — España
- Analcima — España
- Analcima — España