This specimen is a solid metamict mass of Davidite-(La) with a vitreous to greasy lustre, featuring brownish-black massive davidite and fracture fillings of drusy microcrystals of yellow carnotite. The carnotite, which encrusts the davidite-(La), is a known radioactive mineral, adding to the specimen's intrigue. This classic example comes from the famous Radium Hill locality in South Australia, which was Australia's first uranium mine, active from 1906 to 1961. Radium Hill produced nearly 1 million tonnes of davidite-bearing ore, yielding about 860 tons of U3O8. The mine and its associated town were abandoned after operations ceased, leaving the site a ghost town. Collected by R.G. Thomas in 1930, this specimen was acquired by Dr. Tarassoff in 1974 through an exchange with H.K. Worner of Melbourne, Australia.
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This specimen comes from the collection of Dr. Peter Tarassoff, a prominent figure in mineralogy, particularly known for his work at Mont Saint-Hilaire (MSH). His diligent collecting and examination efforts have led him to be the first to identify at least 35 species and discover 12 new species, not only at MSH but also at other alkaline localities. Dubbed the "Dean" of Mont Saint-Hilaire collectors, Peter was honoured with the naming of the new species petarasite in 1980. He has authored or co-authored numerous mineralogical articles and has been a member of the Mineralogical Association of Canada since 1964 and the Mineralogical Society of America for over 30 years. Additionally, Peter has volunteered at the Redpath Museum for the past 21 years. In recognition of his significant contributions to mineralogy, Peter was awarded the 2017 Pinch Medal by the Mineralogical Association of Canada.
Peter's dedication to systematic collecting, curating his collection, and maintaining an archive of detailed historical and scientific information has greatly benefited the mineral sciences community both in Canada and globally. All specimens from this collection come with the original P. Tarassoff collection label.
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