Sabinaite

Though modest in appearance, this fascinating specimen features a white microcline matrix with a vug featuring a delicate crust studded with numerous micro-crystals of sabinaite, an exceptionally rare sodium titanium zirconium carbonate. One exceptional textbook crystal stands out in the specimen (main pic). The sabinaite forms pseudo-hexagonal, pearly-white microcrystals, accompanied scattered siderite microcrystals, a beautiful intricate association of classic Mont Saint-Hilaire species.

Sabinaite is an extremely rare species named in honour of Ann Phyllis Sabina Stenson (1930–2015), the Canadian mineralogist who first collected the mineral. It is known from only two localities worldwide—both in Canada—the Francon Quarry in Montreal, where it was first described in 1980, and the Poudrette Quarry at Mont Saint-Hilaire. It occurs in vugs within silicocarbonatite sills at Francon and in cavities within sodalite syenite at Mont Saint-Hilaire.

This specimen was collected by Peter Tarassoff in 2002, whose extensive fieldwork helped document many of Mont Saint-Hilaire’s rare mineral species. Exhibiting the diagnostic pearly lustre and pseudo-hexagonal crystal form of sabinaite, this piece is a great representation of an incredibly rare carbonate species, combining excellent provenance, scientific interest, and fine crystallization.