Home > Type Localities I – July 8 > MS0707 Minasgeraisite-(Y)

Minasgeraisite-(Y) - Sold


Minasgeraisite-(Y) is one of the rarest of minerals, known primarilly from a single find in Brazil. The locality is the occurrence of the large, perhaps to 2.5 cm or more, milarite crystals from the Brazilian pegmatite district. This material was collected by Richard Gaines in 1980 (Foord et al. 1986). Minasgeraisite is a member of gadolinite-datolite group of minerals. A bit of manganese substitution for calcium is likely responsible for the purple color. One of very few purple minerals, this material was quite the rage in 1986 when Richard Gaines sold the material at Tucson. This specimen came out of the Steve Pullman collection, a collector who appreciated rare minerals. This specimen shows blocky lilac crystals on muscovite books, with associated milarite.