Broken Hill Noonderite

rockjunquie - Yes, that's exactly what I can find online. I think the newer stuff is pretty too. I like how it looks almost like branches and leaves. Nice work lady!

I just wish I could find an example of the original material. It's out there, somewhere, waiting for me to dig it up! (online of course)

Thank you though! I appreciate you confirming the new material.

I found this thread on Mindat while searching.


This is an excerpt - Link to the whole thread after the quote


"Hi, I can confirm that the location on Nundoora Station has been worked out and no longer able to be accessed. It was a small outcrop of rock that was opened up in the 1960's for lapidary purposes and the best came from a fresh unweathered patch in the middle. The pit was not that big and the family that own the station cleaned up the pit with a bulldozer about twenty years ago. I have seen pieces now and then in local collections, usually lumps of rock with one or two polished faces. The rock is a light tannish-grey colour with green flecks throughout and quite hard. If you wanted to find out more, you could contact the Mannion family on Nundoora Station, but I believe they will only tell you that there is no more available."


"The reason that Nundoorite is not in the Mindat database is because it is not a mineral but a rock. As Ralph said it is a combination of aegerine in an orthoclase syenite. Syenite itself is an igneous rock and the Nundoorite has the added flecks of aegerine that make it more attractive. To answer your question as to why it has suddenly made a re-appearance could be that a new deposit of a similar rock has been discovered and exploited. As the original name of Nundoorite was used for this combination of minerals, it is logical that marketeers would use the existing name for the new material, regardless of whether or not it came off Nundoora Station."


link

I think the new stuff is pretty rare as well.  If I can remember this right, I believe it is called Nunderite, but not found at Nundora Station.  It's still rare, but just not extinct!  You don't know how many hours I've put into trying to find this old material! It's all in someone's grandpa's collection, pre-dating the age of the internet. 

So - finally-  looking through the location (broken hill nundora station) mineral specimen photos, I was able to find the orthoclase which appears to be in a "similar to my" looking material.

Here's a link.  Let's pretend we cut this up into slabs and imagine it. How dare we! I think this is one of those "best of material" they talked about.  Nobody would slab this, I think.  

link

Maybe realrockhound can check his junk pile.