Harzburgite, an ultramafic igneous rock, is a variety of peridotite. Garnet-bearing hartzburgite though is far more rare, found mostly as xenoliths in kimberlite. This locality of garnet-bearing hartzburgite is from the Kaapval Craton, in Kimberley, South Africa and is the dominant diamond-bearing source rock.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $32.00
Micromount, choice of polished slice or 3/4 inch fragment in a 1" plastic case, $20.00
Thin section microscope slide, $48.00

The Snap Lake hypabyssal kimberlite is a 15° inclined intrusion that intrudes Archaean rocks of the Slave Craton. Kimberlite rocks from this locality are pieces of deep (>250 km) lithospheric mantle. It is Canada's first completely underground diamond mine and the only diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $36.00
Micromount, polished slice or 3/4 inch fragment in a 1" plastic case, $22.00
Thin section microscope slide, $48.00

Surface texture, Kimberlite, Premier Mine.

Kimberlite from Premier Mine in thin section.

The world famous DeBeers Premier Diamond mine of Transvaal, South Africa is the source of the largest diamond ever found and is the best known and studied diamond mine in the world. This kimberlite is the source rock for almost all diamonds from this locality and due to security, samples from this mine are enormously difficult to obtain and only available at the university level.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $36.00
Micromount specimen in a 1" plastic case, $20.00
Thin section microscope slide, $58.00

Sturgeon Lake kimberlite, surface texture.

Sturgeon Lake kimberlite in thin section.

Monopros, an exploration arm of De Beers, discovered the Sturgeon Lake kimberlite in 1987. It's located 70 kilometers northwest of the Fort a' la Corne kimberlite cluster. De Beers gave up ownership of the Sturgeon Lake kimberlite in order to focus on the much larger Fort a la Corne kimberlites, but although the total tonnage of the Sturgeon Lake kimberlite is small by De Beers standards, it is exposed at the surface and does not require extensive overburden removal. Additionally, the diamond count and valuations make it attractive for a smaller scale surface operation.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $30.00
Micromount specimen in a 1" plastic case, $18.00
Thin section microscope slide, $48.00

Surface texture, Indaia I Intrusion kimberlite

.Indaia I Intrusion kimberlite in thin section.

The Indaia I intrusion, near Coromandel, Brazil kimberlites have some affinities to ultrapotassic rocks such as ugandites and kamafugites. This kimberlite is choked with disaggregated peridotite and there is a great deal of olivine, ilmenite, and rounded grains of garnet. Additionally, seen in thin section, there are microphenocrysts of magnesian ilmenite, magnesiochromite, and perovskite.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $30.00
Micromount specimen in a 1" plastic case, $20.00
Thin section microscope slide, $48.00

Surface groundmass, Lamproite, Ellendale #9.

In thin section.

Many of the discovered pipes in Western Australia have been referred to as kimberlites but are in fact lamproites. The olivine in lamproites is more complex than in kimberlites but both are diamond-bearing. The groundmass minerals include phlogopite, amphibole, clinopyroxene, perovskite, spinel, leucite, and wadeite whereas in kimberlites, amphibole, wadeite, leucite and glass are not found. This is a spectacular volcanological/textural specimen. Its matrix is a coarse tuff composed of magmatic lapilli of lamproitic olivine.

Offered in polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $32.00
Micromount specimen in a 1" plastic case, $22.00
Thin section microscope slide, $48.00

Thin section, Lamproite

Phlogopite mica inclusions.

Limburgite in thin section

Vesicles and augite phenocryst clusters.

Echo Bay Mine kimberlite in thin section.

Surface matrix, microbreccia.

This rare diamondiferous kimberlite is from the Echo Bay Mine site on Nunavut, Canada's Arctic. From the Jericho Pipe, it is rich in garnet, ilmenite, phlogopite mica, and chrome diopside. Many inclusions.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $34.00
Micromount, polished slice or 3/4 inch fragment in a 1" plastic case, $22.00
Thin section microscope slide, $48.00

Ground mass texture, Gates-Adah Dike Kimberlite.

In thinsection, Gates-Adah Dike kimberlite.

Pyroclastic kimberlite in thin section.

Surface matrix, pyroclastic kimberlite

This is a sample from the Victor North Pyroclastic Kimberlite pipe located in the James Bay Lowland, Northern Ontario, Canada. It is scheduled for open pit mining by De Beers Canada sometime in 2009. This mine will be the first diamond mine in Ontario, and the fifth in Canada. It is classified as a spinel-bearing carbonate Group I kimberlite with dolomite more abundant in the matrix than calcite.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $34.00
Micromount, polished slice or 3/4 inchfragment in a 1" plastic case, $22.00
Thin section microscope slide, $44.00

Garnet-rich kimberlite in thin section

Pyrope Garnet-rich Kimberlite

Olivine Nephelinite Lava in thin section

Olivine Nephelinite Lava matrix

Nephelinites are silica-undersaturated, mafic, igneous rocks consisting mostly of nepheline and pyroxene. This sample is a piece of the East African (continental) Rift. It's a very fresh and extremely dense, unaltered ultramafic rock of mantle origin.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $32.00
Micromount, polished slice or 3.4 inch fragment in a 1" plastic case, $20.00
Thin section microscope slide, $44.00

Titanite ijolite in thin section

Titanite ijolite surface matrix

The Ice River Complex is a little known but world class intrusion in eastern British Colombia, Canada with two magmatic series: an alkaline ultramafic one dominated by ijolite and carbonatite and a syenitic one. This specimen is a medium-grained rock from the ijolite series but with some characteristics transitional to the syenite series. In addition to nepheline, euhedral titanite wedges, and green clinopyroxene it has some minor perthitic alkali feldspar and interstitial sodalite. This is a rare igneous rock that is beautiful in thin section.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $32.00
Micromount specimen in a 1" plastic case, $20.00
Thin section microscope slide, $44.00

Waigidee Lamproite pegmatite in thin section

Surface, polished slice.

From the famous Walgidee Hills in Western Australia, this is Walgidee lamproite pegmatite with outsized priderite and wadeite plus beautiful clove-brown K-richerite. Also in matrix, Perovskite, shcherbakovite, and some grass green diopside. A Canadian petrologist described this rock as 'one of the coolest rocks on the planet".

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $38.00
Micromount, polished slice or fragment in a 1" plastic case, $26.00
Thin section microscope slide, $72.00

Peralkaline, superheated phonolite lava in thin sectio.

Surface texture, phonolite lava.

Peralkaline, superheated phonolite lava collected from a flank flow on the west side of the Shombole Volcano in East Africa, north of the Kenya/Tanzania border, with inclusions of eucolite-bearing syenite. The preferred formative theory of origin is that hot nephelinite magma intruded beneath a syenite body, remelting it to form a supraliquidus melt which brought up xenoliths of the selenite.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices and micromount:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $32.00
Micromount specimen in a 1" plastic case, $20.00
Thin section not available

Peroxenite, Mantle Xenolith in thin section

Polished surface, Peroxenite, Mantle Xenolith

This pyroxenite mantle xenolith from the Mt. Leura, Newer Volcanics Province in Victoria, Australia has subordinate, rounded olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene. There are many pockets of insitu melts which partly crystallized to euhedral olivine and quench sprays of clinopyroxene. Along grain boundaries, the melt has invaded in a thin film.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices and micromount and thin section:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $33.00
Micromount, polished slice or 3/4 inch fragment in a 1" plastic case, $20.00
Microscope thin section $44.00

Nepheline Syenite in thin section

Polished surface, Nepheline Syenite

Mesocratic nepheline syenite! This is another "complicated" rock from the Ice River Complex in British Columbia, Canada. In each polished piece, beautiful fresh blue-green nepheline and endless euhedral titanite wedges. Additional minerals will be aegirine, kaersutite-barkevikite, alkali feldspar, and sodalite. Polished slices or in micromount this is a significant rock.

Offered in lab-prepared polished slices, micromounts, and thin sections:
Polished slices, in a 2"x2" plastic case, $34.00
Micromount specimen in a 1" plastic case, $22.00
Thin section microscope slide, $44.00

Okaite, melilitite pegmatite polished surface