An especially fine specimen of barylite in coarse, bladed crystals 4-6 cm long in a matrix of pale gray calcite cut by irregular veinlets of brown serpentine. The large, fan-shaped group of barylite crystals on the left half of this piece is particularly noteworthy. A film of native copper measuring 14 x 5 mm coats one of the blades along the left edge, and a small (7 mm) mass of a pale honey-colored mineral near the right end of the barylite fan is probably hedyphane, a known species of the barylite assemblage. Willemite is also present, as small, widely scattered grains in calcite and especially as thin, patchy films on the faces of the barylite crystals. The barylite was confirmed as such by Raman spectroscopy. Formerly specimen F147 in the Princeton University collection, this fine example is now Franklin Mineral Museum specimen FMM-8062 and is on exhibit in Baum Hall of that museum.
Identifier: BYL5a Locality: Franklin mine, Franklin Specimen size: 9.5 x 6 x 5 cm Photo credit: Jeffrey R. Glover - Indoors Outdoors Photography
