Newberyite
at-auction$ 10
- Locality
- Skipton Caves, Mt. Widderin, Skipton, Victoria, Australia
- Minerals
- Newberyite
- Dimensions
- 1.3 x 0.7 x 0.7 cm
- Size class
- Thumbnail
- SID
- R247
Two specimens of Newberyite, a rare phosphate mineral derived from bat guano and only found at this one locality. These are rare to find specimens. The Skipton Caves were a favoured roosting and breeding site for bats, and at one time contained columns of guano rising up to 12 feet high. The guano was harvested for fertilizer and exhausted by 1895, and the bats are reportedly now gone, and collecting or removal of any material from the caves is prohibited. If you want rare and unusual minerals, here you go.