Weloganite

specimen number:
2262231

location:
Francon Quarry, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

description:

A very fine thumbnail for the species with a grouping of 3X terminated crystals of weloganite great condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the dealer Larry Conklin, as well as is a previous data card. These are shown at the end of the video. The data card notes and original acquisition date in 1974.

The Francon Quarry, situated in the Saint-Michel borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is a legendary mineralogical locality celebrated as the official type locality for weloganite and nine other rare mineral species. Geologically, the quarry was excavated into Ordovician-age limestone beds of the Trenton Group, which were intensely intruded by a specialized, two-meter-thick alkaline igneous formation known as the Saint-Michel sill. This zirconium- and strontium-rich sill contained highly unusual chemical pockets and cavities, allowing the rare hydrated sodium strontium zirconium carbonate mineral, weloganite, to crystallize as distinct, prominent, tapering hexagonal or pseudo-trigonal prisms ranging in color from transparent white to vibrant lemon yellow. Historically, the open-pit quarrying operations were established primarily to extract massive quantities of crushed limestone aggregate for municipal construction projects across Montreal. The site achieved international scientific renown in 1966 when Canadian government mineralogist Ann Phyllis Sabina discovered weloganite during a routine field survey, triggering an influx of intense research and academic collecting during the peak years of industrial quarrying. Commercial extraction at the Francon Quarry ran continuously for decades until its permanent closure in 1985, after which the city of Montreal repurposed the massive deep pit as a major winter snow-dumping facility.

Lawrence Conklin was a world-renowned mineral dealer based in New York City, widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable and sophisticated figures in the history of the mineral trade. Operating from his office on 5th Avenue and later from his home in Connecticut, Conklin specialized in "antique" minerals and specimens with significant historical provenance. He was a meticulous researcher and an elegant writer, often publishing articles that corrected historical errors in mineralogical literature. His career spanned over five decades, during which he handled some of the finest known specimens from classic European and American localities, setting a high standard for aesthetic quality and documentation in the field.

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