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Afghanistan Spodumene – September 2017

I’ve added some great new spodumene crystals in this Afghanistan Spodumene Update (click here). These spodumene crystals are from a 2017 pocket that produced colour-zoned (lilac/pink – pale green – colourless) crystals, along with some specimens that were purely lilac/pink and some that had no such hues at all. Although spodumene crystals are often etched or poorly defined, this pocket included sharp well-formed crystals and relatively low incidence of etching/dissolution features.
In the relevant specimen descriptions in this update, I’ve included an important Note About Colour Stability. The light green colour in these spodumene crystals fades to colourless upon exposure to daylight. If exposed in direct sun, this will happen relatively quickly. If exposed to indirect daylight indoors, such as in a display cabinet, the green will fade over a longer period of time. If one keeps a specimen fully protected from daylight, the green may be preserved, although it’s anyone’s guess – over a period of months, I have seen no degradation to specimens kept in drawers (with no daylight exposure). If kept out in a cabinet, a coloured specimen from this find should be considered a colour-zoned kunzite, from pink to colourless. In general, like many other minerals, the colour in all spodumene is best preserved if it is protected from light.