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The large quarry of Trimouns Talc is located on the top of the French Pyrenees, close to Ax-le-Thermes. Talc and dolomite are the main rocks present in this quarry. They are accompanied by several well crystallized minerals with Rare Earth (REE) which are very appreciated by mineral collectors. Quarry is working actually but only in spring-autum season.
Very exceptional group of bastnäsite-(Ce) crystals. Good size, defined faces and edges, transparence, brilliance... And perfectly disposed on a dolomite crystal matrix. A rare opportunity to obtain a top quality specimen of this REE carbonate from this classic French talc quarry.
Exceptional hyaline quartz crystal showing a developed prism with marked horizontal striations on faces and excellent terminal rhombohedral faces. Very sharp, perfect transparence anb best brilliance. Acompanied by a small matrix with dolomite rhombohedra. Specimen is better on hand than in pictures. This sample was collected from the dolomitic vugs of the Trimouns Talc quarry.
A single and sharp crystal of bastnäsite-(Ce) showing tabular hexagonal shape. They show a good transparency and color that varies between yellow-green to orange-brown, depending on the type of the light that strikes them. Accompanied by corroded allanite-(Ce) as usual in this paragenesis. This specimen is from a French worldwide classic mine for Rare Earth Elements (REE) species: Trimouns. Currently it is not easy to find bastnäsite-(Ce) specimens from this mine and with this crystal size.
Gem quality allanite-(Ce) specimen, with a good size, elongated and showing well defined faces and edges. It is embedded in the matrix of calcite with brilliant talc. Transparency and luster are excellent and shows a zoning toasted honey color, with green pleochroism visible depending on light. It is accompanied by other smaller crystal similarly defined and transparent. The area where I extracted no longer exists, when quarry has been extended. A piece of Rare Earths (REE) of a classic French locality, aesthetic and not easy to be found nowadays.
This specimen is from a worldwide classic mine for Rare Earth Elements (REE) species. We observe two groups of defined tabular hexagonal crystals with small pyramidal faces. They show a good transparency and color that varies between yellow-green to orange-brown, depending on the type of the light that strikes them. Currently it is not easy to find bastnäsite-(Ce) specimens from this mine and with this crystal size.