The Wannenköpfe
Ochtendung, Eifel region, Germany
The Minerals
MUSCOVITE
Muscovite is a very rare mineral in the Eifel region ! You can find it at: the Emmelberg, the Herchenberg, the Niveligsberg, around
Mendig and at the Wannenköpfe. In the beginning I found sporadic small colourless Muscovite crystals, sometimes in the typical "cock's comb" form
(pictures 1-4). Then came that lucky day in october 2004, I found a lot of nice xenoliths. In one of them I found lots of beautiful Muscovite crystals, in different forms
and colours, even a few pink ones !! Until now pink Eifel Muscovite was only once found at the Niveligsberg.
Little aggregates (rosettes) of tiny keel forming colourless crystals, often in combination with very thin long-drawn colourless lath forming crystals (pffff ...) , pictures 5-8.
These Muscovite rosettes are mostly surrounded by shiny Sanidine, you have to enlarge properly, otherwise you will overlook them or you think it is Topaz. Other accompanying minerals:
of course Sanidine, often Pseudobrookite, Sodalite, Cristobalite and rarely Rutile needles. You can't miss the second form: mostly two or three plates of Muscovite "glued" together, often
the typical "cock's comb" form, often colourless, sometimes a bit brown, even lightly pink, sometimes transparent. Sometimes the Muscovite plates are covered with many tiny Muscovite crystals in several forms,
and/or covered with a few Sodalite crystals.
Bulkemstraat 22 6369 XW Simpelveld The Netherlands
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