The Cloncurryite is so rare and little known that even the Cloncurry Unearthed Museum has no specimen of the recently discovered crystal.
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The rare mineral so obviously named after Cloncurry is found in only one place in the world.
It is found underground in the old Great Australia Mine.
The museum’s manager Gail Wipaki is determined to get her hands on a specimen.
She only knew a year ago that the Cloncurryite existed.
Mrs Wipaki said the museum’s collection boasted 16,000 mineral specimens.
The Cloncurryite was a “must have” and would be the gem of the collection when obtained.
She tried buying one online with little luck.
“That’s my mission for the future, to obtain one for there," she said during the Rockhana Gem and Mineral Festival held at the museum last weekend.
While interviewed about the mineral Mrs Wipaki turned to fossicker Wally Robertson and asked if he had heard of the Cloncurryite. He had not.
“It’s the most beautifulest blue,” she said.
“I would love to have one in the collection.
“That would just put the finishing touches to it.”
The International Mineralogical Association confirms and approves the existence of the Cloncurryite.
Its list of minerals said the Cloncurryite was first mentioned in the Australian Journal of Mineralogy in 2007.
Yet the Great Australia Mine was found by the great explorer Ernest Henry in the 1860s.
“They did not know that the mineral was there then,” Mrs Wipaki said.
“It’s only been found in the last few years.”
The abstract of the report shown on the Western Sydney University website said the mineral is associated with malachite and native copper.
“Cloncurryite occurs as sky-blue clusters and radiating sprays of extremely acicular prismatic crystals, in a ferruginous, silicified gossan matrix,” the abstract said.
“Isolated needles less than 1 mm long and less than 0.03 mm in thickness are very pale sky-blue in colour, and when small appear colourless.
“Crystals are non-fluorescent, have a white streak and are transparent with a vitreous lustre.”
The website E-Rocks had five specimens of Cloncurryite on sale.
Museum Victoria also has a specimen of the Cloncurryite in storage.