Parisite-(Ce), Snowbird Mine, Mineral County, Montana

Another very rare mineral we are offering is parisite (named after J. J Paris, a mine manager at the Muzo, Columbia emerald mine 1828-1848). Parisite has wonderfully complex mineralogy, consisting of cerium, lanthanum and calcium fluoro-carbonate (uncommon indeed). Considered a "rare earth element", most parisite is cerium-bearing or "parisite-(Ce)" like our examples from the abandoned Snowbird Mine in Montana. 

This small cluster has several parisite crystals packed together showing their tapering bipyramidal habit. The specimen shows a nice dark red brown colour when backlit but does have a few nicks. Collected by Keith Mychaluk at the Snowbird Mine, Mineral County, Montana. Dimensions: 1.9 cm tall