  Aeschynite.
The card that came with this shale-like blackish mineral says the following about the name: "From Gk. aeschyne, shame, alluding to the inability of chemists at the time of its discovery to separate some of its constituents". Hm, I wonder if it was the chemists who came up with this name, or the geologists who gave it to them to analyze.
This specimen is from Molland in Iveland, Norway. I bought it for its thorium content: Not that many minerals contain thorium and I'm trying to collect them all.
Reader Magnus Alvestad sent this interesting information about Iveland:Hi. I noticed that your Aeschynite sample is from Iveland in Norway. The small community of Iveland is actually famous for their mines and minerals. Here's a folder with some information about a local exhibition. They also have at least 5 mines that are open to the public for a small price, where you can dig for minerals yourself.
Source: SoCal (Nevada), Inc
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 20 September, 2005
Text Updated: 1 December, 2008
Price: $29
Size: 1.5"
Composition: (Y, Ca, Fe, Th)(Ti, Nb)2(O, OH)6
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