Sodalite (Hackmanite) and Richterite from Afghanistan

Contributed by: Mark Cole
Date: Mar 14th, 2026
Locality: Sar-e-Sang, Kuran wa Munjan District, Badakhshan, Afghanistan (See on Mindat)
Size: 3.5 x 2.5 x 5 inches
Weight: 1.5 lb

Description:
How about you grab your UV light, hop on a plane and head out to the mines in the remote mountains of Afghanistan. I guarantee you will discover a new "world-class" deposit of fluorescent minerals. Send us a postcard...
By now everyone is familiar with the sodalite (hackmanite) from Afghanistan; very tenebrescent, often phosphorescent, and sometimes nice crystals. This piece is a large crystal which has been wrapped by richterite. The richterite is what I find amazing here: under longwave it exhibits a beautiful greenish/blue fluorescence. Not all richterite does this – that is why we need you to hop on a plane and find the ones that do. There just are not that many two-color longwave specimens around.

The sodalite is nicely tenebrescent but not as dark as others, and it fades rapidly. It is also somewhat phosphorescent.

Originally posted by Mark Cole on Nature's Rainbows in 2016.