The Wannenköpfe
Ochtendung, Eifel region, Germany

The Minerals

BIOTITE

One of the three Micas you can find at the Wannenköpfe, the other ones are Muscovite and Phlogopite. A quite common mineral in the Eifel region .... Biotite, yet sometimes very beautiful. The Laacher See region for instance shows us very nice specimens. If you are a fan of Eifel minerals, the book "Laacher See Minerals" is a must, from my favourite mineral photographer Eddy Van Der Meersche. The pages 39-41 show us beautiful dark Biotite aggregates. But the Biotites from the Wannenköpfe are also interesting, and worth looking for. You can find Biotite in a lot of different xenoliths, but the brown-yellow ones (xenolith number 7) are the best. Accompanying minerals: Sanidine (of course) Nosean, Nefeline, Hematite, Corundum, Sodalite, Topaz and Pseudobrookite. I have heard that some collectors found a beautiful variant; Rhönite crystals groing together with Biotite ! I never found it (yet !), I even never saw this variant, but who knows .... maybe the next time.


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Bulkemstraat 22 6369 XW Simpelveld The Netherlands

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