Columbite-Tantalite

This specimen features sharp, black, submetallic columbite-(Fe) crystals associated with quartz and salmon-coloured microcline feldspar. It comes from a pegmatite occurrence at Ross Lake in the Yellowknife area, Northwest Territories, a region long recognized for its rare-element pegmatites and diverse mineralogy. The Yellowknife field, situated within the Archean Slave Province, hosts a number of granitic pegmatites that have yielded fine specimens of niobium–tantalum minerals, including columbite, tantalite, and related phases.

The association of lustrous columbite-(Fe) with feldspar and quartz in this piece is characteristic of these pegmatites, where accessory minerals occur within feldspar- and quartz-rich pockets. The delicate contrast between the salmon-pink microcline and the dark metallic columbite makes this specimen both scientifically valuable and aesthetically striking.

This example comes from the collection of Dr. Peter Tarassoff, further underscoring its significance as a documented specimen from a classic but relatively little-known northern Canadian locality.