Well-developed and very aerial Loparite crystal on Albite matrix, with equidimensional habit and defined faces, showing its characteristic submetallic luster and intense black color. The Loparite crystal appears partially embedded in the feldspathic matrix, with good contrast and no relevant visible damage. The Albite occurs as whitish aggregates of compact aspect, acting as support for the Loparite.
Mount N'orkpakhk is located in the Khibiny Massif, on the Kola Peninsula. The massif is one of the world’s most important alkaline complexes, composed of highly evolved nepheline-bearing rocks with abundant pegmatitic bodies and significant late hydrothermal activity.
The locality is representative of the exceptional mineralogical diversity of Khibiny, with numerous rare species enriched in rare earth elements, niobium, and titanium, including Loparite, Eudialyte, Rinkite, Låvenite, Vuonnemite, and Murmanite, among many others. This type of paragenesis, rich in complex silicates and oxides of incompatible elements, is typical of different areas within the massif, with variations depending on local geochemical evolution.
Mount N'orkpakhk, Khibiny Massif, Kirovsk District, Murmansk Oblast Russia
Specimen size: 4.1 × 3 × 1.6 cm = 1.61” × 1.18” × 0.63”
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