Locality: Ruggles Mine, Grafton, NH
Specimen Size: 5 mm uraninite crystal
Field Collected: Bob Whitmore & Harvard research associates
Catalog No.: NC
Notes: Euhedral, un-altered, uraninite crystals are uncommon at Ruggles based on the paucity of similar photos on mindat.org.
Locality: Mine Ledge locality, Surry, NH
Specimen Size: Top photo, 5 mm field of view.
Field Collected: Tom Mortimer
Catalog No.: TBC
Notes: Pre EDS analysis, my best guess is dickite, an alternate habit of this species that has been confirmed from this locality. These tiny white balls are on a six inch, multi-pound, specimen of goethite-romanechite-hematite.
Testing... not fluorescent (perhaps very weak, very pale green LW), and not a carbonate (flicked off a ball and pushed into a muriatic drop on a slide under my scope.... no bubbles) The balls are moderately soft. My initial thought was aragonite-calcite. Perhaps some sulfate, but I have not seen any sulfides at this locality.
An EDS analyses confirmed dickite. The Al-Si ratio is the same as on a Kerry Day plot linked to my web site dickite top page.
Locality: Parker Mtn. Mine, Strafford, NH
Specimen Size: 0.3 mm crystal
Field Collected: Bob Wilken - 2021
Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken specimen & photo
Notes: Nice photo of a tiny crystal
Locality: Parker Mtn. Mine, Strafford, NH
Specimen Size: 3.7 mm field of view
Field Collected: Bob Wilken - 2021
Catalog No.: A Bob Wilken specimen & photo # PMUK09AS
Notes: Habit of these small crystals is similar to analyzed Gene Bearss Parker specimen, but Gene's is orange-red. A Gene Bearss collected example from Mineral Hill, Wakefield, NH is a similar yellow color.
Locality: Fletcher Mine, Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 1.1 mm field of view
Field Collected: Clayton Ford ?
Catalog No.: u959
Notes: A specimen photo re-do. Gift from Gordon Jackson. Matt Butler examined some small grains from this specimen with a polarizing microscope and reported: "looking at the pink crushed grains I see interference colors but no noticeable pleochroism so maybe strengite."
Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 1.5 cm field of view
Field Collected: From a tub gifted by Bob Whitmore
Catalog No.: u2539
Notes: There are now three "flavors" of rockbridgeite:
Rockbridgeite: Fe2+Fe3+4(PO4)3(OH)5
Ferrirockbridgeite: (Fe3+0.67 □ 0.33)2Fe3+3(PO4)3(OH)4(H2O) Unsure of the meaning of □ .
Ferrorockbridgeite: (Fe2+,Mn2+)2Fe3+3(PO4)3(OH)4(H2O) Ferrorockbridgeite was first described in 2018, ferrirockbridgeite in 2019.
The type locality for ferrirockbridgeite is the Palermo #1 Mine.
An email from Tony Kampf, one of the co-authors in both these new species, stated:
"Ferrirockbridgeite does generally exhibit more of a red-brown color, so your specimen could exhibit both rockbridgeite and ferrirockbridgeite.”
So a risky rule of thumb might be bronze-colored rockbridgeite is ferrirockbridgeite.
Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 5 mm green mass of arrojadite
Field Collected: From a tub gifted by Bob Whitmore
Catalog No.: u2541
Notes: A polished grain EDS analyses, BC356 Set 31, indicated an arrojadite group member as a best fit. Jim Nizamoff opined: "I think it would be wise to label these buggers as 'arrojadite group' for now."
The Arrojadite group presently (2021) has 16 members.
Locality: Palermo Mine, Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 2 cm field of view
Field Collected: From a tub gifted by Bob Whitmore
Catalog No.: u2542
Notes: A polished grain EDS analyses, BC352 Set 31, indicated an arrojadite group member as a best fit. This analysis had a bit of strontium, an element frequently found as aminor constituent in Palermo phosphates.
Triphylite, strunzite, laueite, pyrite, and wolfeite (or graftonite) are also present on this TN specimen. I could have trimmed this to micro-box size, but Jim Nizamoff stressed the importance of preserving the associated minerals.
Locality: Red Hill, Moultonborough, NH
Specimen Size: 1.2 mm field of view
Field Collected: Tom Mortimer
Catalog No.: u2540
Notes: This was another candidate wohlerite specimen, but EDS analyses indicated just a yellow titanite. I have been looking for a Red Hill wohlerite for many years and have done several EDS analyses on candidate wohlerite specimens. They have all analyzed to be titanite. The original description of the Red Hill wohlerite occurrence was a 1907 article by Prisson and Washington in the American Journal of Science. A follow-up EDS analyses by Al Falster (MMGM lab) also indicated a titanite with a bit of zirconium and niobium. Wohlerite requires sodium that was not detected in either analysis.
Locality: Palermo Mine, N. Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 1.0 mm (vertical) crystal
Field Collected: From a tub of Palermo rocks gifted by Bob Whitmore
Catalog No.: u2539
Notes: My first guess on this was strengite. But following an email exchange with Jim Nizamoff, a garnet is the most likely identification.
A polished grain EDS analysis, BC351, set 31, confirmed an iron-rich garnet, almandine, with Fe about 2 x Mn.