Vesuvianite, Analcime, Sodalite, Andradite, Biotite, Molybdenite

This is a remarkable cabinet display-sized specimen from Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, consisting of a softball-sized mass dominated by many vesuvianite crystals inter-grown with analcime, sodalite (hackmanite), andradite, biotite, and molybdenite. While most vesuvianite from Mont Saint-Hilaire occurs in acicular habits and green to yellow hues, this piece features blocky, unusually dark red-brown, vesuvianite crystals, many of which display well-formed crystal faces among the cleaved ones. These are associated with equally dark green to brown andradite garnet, producing a highly unusual skarn-like assemblage that formed at the contact zone between a marble xenolith and igneous breccia. Interestingly, the specimen contains embedded hackmanite (tenebrescent sodalite), which turns purple upon exposure to UV light. This rare and atypical association highlights the incredible mineral diversity of Mont Saint-Hilaire and was collected by the well-known field collector Peter Tarassoff in the 1970s. A highly desirable specimen for advanced collectors of Mont Saint-Hilaire material or unusual mineral assemblages.