Description
This is a top-level brazilianite, with two primary crystals and a number of smaller ones, perched on top of a stack of albite crystals. The brazilianite crystals are sharp, with glassy lustre, good colour and good translucence (each has even a bit of transparency in spots). In excellent condition – the main crystal is pristine and the second crystal has a small chip and the small crystals are all in superb shape. A fantastic specimen from the brief period of production at the Lavra do Telirio (Telirio Mine) – the kind of piece that is now acquired when a specimen comes out of a collection. From the collection of John S. White.
Exceptional display specimens of brazilianite have been found only in Brazil, and most of those have been produced in from the pegmatites intruded into the mica schists in the region of the Lavra do Corrego Frio, the type locality for brazilianite. The Lavra do Telirio is one of these deposits. It has now been closed down, as environmental regulators deemed it too close to the river to be operated. It is currently expected that there will be no further mining at the Telirio.
