Betafite Crystal Cluster — Betafo District, Madagascar

Named for this very locality, betafite is a member of the pyrochlore supergroup and one of the more complex uranium-bearing oxide minerals in the collector market — a calcium uranium titanium niobate that forms striking octahedral crystals with a characteristic dark brown to black colour, resinous to submetallic lustre, and a density immediately apparent when the specimen is handled.

Madagascar betafite is the type material for the species, and clusters showing multiple expressed octahedral crystals on matrix represent the mineral at its best. The crystals exhibit the geometric clarity of the isometric system, with the pyrochlore-group octahedral habit well-defined even through the metamict alteration that affects most specimens at the atomic scale. Despite metamictization, crystal outlines typically remain sharp and display well. Activity levels are moderate and consistent with the mixed uranium-niobium chemistry of the species.

A historically significant specimen from the type locality, appropriate for advanced radioactive mineral collections and anyone building a systematic survey of uranium oxide mineralogy.

Approx. specimen size: 25mm x 13mm x 9mm

Approx. specimen weight: 13.50 grams

Approx. specimen activity on an SE International Ranger EXP: 26000 CPM