GASPEITE
Gaspeite is a rare nickel carbonate. The Australian material that has been on the market for the last few years, has all come from one location in Western Australia. Near a tiny outback town called Widgiemooltha.
During the course of a nickel mining operation, the gaspeite was unearthed. Being an exceptionally high grade nickel ore, it was stockpiled for later treatment (the gaspeite being mixed in with many thousands of tons of other material).
For various reasons, portions of this stockpile were more or less abandoned by the mining company. After numerous parties made frequent collecting trips, the company decided to sell the gaspeite rights to the highest bidder. In 1997 an American gemstone dealer finally won the bidding.
I was on site to assist during the operation. Unfortunately, all that remains at the site now, is the left over rock that we sifted through. If you're lucky, you may find some crumbs that we missed.
UPDATE June 2008 :
Over the course of the last year or so, another major nickel mining operation has taken place at this location. A new open cut pit has been created & the waste rock surrounding the orebody has been deposited on top of the old stockpiles. This means that any chance of recovering any remaining gaspeite is now gone, buried beneath a mountain of overburden that probably exceeds a quarter of a million tons.
From time to time, small amounts of gaspeite become available from some of the earlier collectors.
