TERRIUM — A mineralogy cabinet


Yuanfuliíta

Yuanfuliíta is a mineral with formula Mg(Fe³⁺,Al)(BO₃)O, in the Boratos group. This specimen comes from Minas Nuestra Señora del Carmen, La Celia, Jumilla, Murcia, España.

Yuanfuliíta from Minas Nuestra Señora del Carmen, La Celia, Jumilla, Murcia, España — Terrium

Description

Felted aggregates of acicular, honey-coloured, lustrous yuanfuliite crystals on lamproite matrix. Associated with platy hematite, bright yellow–green diopside, white spheroidal calcite, and flat crystals of translucent tridymite.

About Yuanfuliíta

Yuanfuliite is a rare borate recognised as a species in 1994. Miguel Calvo documented its presence here in Jumilla in 2012 (Minerales y Minas de España, vol. 5, pp. 649–650). The association is rich and mineralogically complex.

About the locality

Closed. One of the best-known Spanish deposits of this ultrapotassic environment, renowned for its apatites and for rare parageneses in small cavities in the rock. Although never a mass producer, it has yielded well-formed specimens much appreciated by collectors. Its closure is due to the area being declared a protected area, after several bat colonies chose it as a refuge. It has also been a regular destination for collectors, and the plundering of mineral specimens has been cited as grounds for the final closure.

Technical data

Catalogue No.
0336
Internal reference
T0008
Composition
Mg(Fe³⁺,Al)(BO₃)O
Name
Yuanfuliíta
Group
Boratos
Category
Lucimera
Matrix
Lamproíta
Associations
Calcita, Hematites, Diopsido, Tridimita
Mine
Minas Nuestra Señora del Carmen
District / Municipality
La Celia, Jumilla
Province
Murcia
Country
España
Size (cm)
2.5 x 2 x 2
Weight
5 g
Etymology
Named in honour of the Chinese geologist Yuan Fuli (1893-1987).
Quality
Buena
Value trend
Estable

Related specimens

← Back to Terrium catalogue