Londonite

specimen number:
2354183

location:
Tetezantsio, Betafo, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

description:
Yellow lustrous sharp crystals of londonite measuring to 1.0 cm in size on matrix with purplish red elbaite. In good condition.

Situated in the Betafo District of the Vakinankaratra Region in central Madagascar, Tetezantsio is a celebrated pegmatite locality renowned for its late-stage Granitic granitic dike systems enriched in rare light elements. Formed during the Pan-African orogenic event in the late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic eras, these complex granitic pegmatites underwent extreme fractional crystallization, resulting in pockets filled with exceptional gem and collector minerals. Local miners and international specimen collectors have worked these deposits since the twentieth century, unearthing tourmalines, cs-rich beryls, and exotic borates. Tetezantsio is world-famous as the type locality for londonite, a rare caesium-dominant analog of rhodizite that forms brilliant, lustrous, colorless to pale yellow isometric crystals, highly sought after by mineral collectors for its extreme rarity and crisp crystal morphology.

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