MGR06 Columbite

Mahaiza Area, Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar

9.2x 6.1x 5.0 cm

$860

This piece was actually purchased on my previous trip, but it never got posted.  It is a very large and heavy (over 1.5 lbs) columbite crystal from an alluvial deposit somewhere near the Mahaiza Commune.  This material is typically completely rounded, with the crystal faces worn beyond recognition.  In this specimen however, the crystal shape has been well preserved, with just enough rounding to hint at its alluvial origins. 

 For a Malagasy columbite, it is also quite large. Most crystalline of the crystalline examples are found in pegmatites, and are usually around 1.5 inches.

The locals collect this material to sell as ore—columbite-tantalite is the famous “coltan” that gets processed to obtain the tantalum and niobium.  The tantalum is necessary to produce components (particularly capacitors) used in virtually all electronic devices; the niobium mostly goes into high grade structural steel.