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Mineral Specimens with Sphalerite
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8.9 x 6.9 x 5.9 cm. A flashy specimen from Dalnegorsk, featuring spiky, transparent quartz crystals sticking out in all directions, intergrown with lustrous, euhedral sphalerites to one centimeter.
4.2 x 2.4 x 2.4 cm. Bright pink, elongated, bladed crystals of rhodonite, always highly valued when well-crystallized - from Peru. A super miniature.
20.8 x 12.2 x 1.2 cm. A big, gorgeous and flashy specimen from Poland, a slice through essentially a boulder of alternating bands of three different minerals that were laid down in successive layers, similar to the way agate gets its bands, but with an exotic mix of minerals here rather than just quartz (as with agate). This specimen came out of the collection of Dave Stoudt, who was stationed in Poland for a decade and was able to buy from miners and dealers during his time there.
5.6 x 4.8 x 3.2 cm. This is a cluster of fluorite crystals from the now-closed Elmwood Mine that is UNUSUALLY transparent. In fact, they (also unusually) show marked zoning, with darker purple towards the outside. They have the shiny "pebbly" surface you sometimes see on fluorites from here. There is just a bit of accenting sphalerite. The crystals measure to 2.5 cm along the edge.
4.2 x 3.6 x 2.2 cm. This combination is best known and classic from the Commodore Mine in Colorado, but here it is in a specimen from Bulgaria! - and with a special twist - note the bizarre skeletal galena, particularly the one at the edge of the specimen where natural etching has left these two former crystal edges sticking up like arms off the specimen! Other crystals have indentations, curves and all sort of weird distortions. The sphalerites came later.
5.9 x 4.1 x 2.4 cm. A classic association from the Elmwood - lustrous compound crystals of sphalerite with sparkly dolomite, and representing fluorite, a tiny "cutie" of a crystal, gemmy, complete and perfect.
9.4 x 9.0 x 5.1 cm. A huge cluster of crystalline sphalerite, the zinc ore mineral that was the reason for the Elmwood, on matrix, with little jewel-like calcite twins speckled all over both the sphalerite and the matrix. For all the profusion of Elmwood specimens that came out while the mine was open, this one is really unique!
6.5 x 4.5 x 3.5 cm. A CLASSIC, OLD-TIME combination piece from the famed Tri-State District. A large, 3.2 cm, sharp and lustrous, complete all-around, black sphalerite crystal aesthetically dominates matrix covered with pastel-pink dolomite rhombs, smaller sphalerites and a complimentary dusting of small, colorful chalcopyrite crystals. Showy material from the Charles Hansen Collection, a noted California collector.
13.9 x 10.9 x 4.5 cm. Pyrite is mined by the ton in Peru, but really standout specimens worthy of a good collection are still exceptional. This is one of those, and it has it all! First, the pyrite crystals are ringed around a central quartz-filled recess, which gives the specimen very unusual "structure" compared to the normal plate of wall-to-wall crystals. Secondly, the crystals have the absolute top mirror-brightness to them, some of them with pretty micro-terracing on their faces. Small sphalerites are sprinkled here and there amongst the pyrites.
4.4 x 3.4 x 2.7 cm. Yes, this galena crystal is really as weird in form as it looks - presumably from natural etching, leaving it with curved, melty-looking surfaces pretty much opposite the normal character of galena with its flat-faced cubes. You can see a crystal of sphalerite intergrown with it on the right side.
6.2 x 5.1 x 4.4 cm. The pyrrhotite and galena here are intricately intergrown, having formed together, which I have seen before from this locality - though specimens such as this are rare. You can see the characteristic terraced, blocky form of the pyrrhotite compound crystal, with the galenas being small crystals interspersed. There is some sphalerite present as well. This Mexican pyrrhotite has a distinctively different patina from those from elsewhere, such as Dal’negorsk, with a yellow ochre color and shimmering luster.
11.1 x 6.5 x 3.6 cm. SUPER-GEMMY and lustrous, olive green sphalerite crystals in clusters and as discrete crystals are AESTHETICALLY scattered on CABINET-SIZED matrix on this SUPERB combination specimen from the Pachapaqui District of Peru. A robust, vuggy crust of pastel-pink, bladed rhodocrhosite is an especially visual contrast to the sphalerite crystals. Some of the sphalerites even have a fire play of color, they are so gemmy.
5.7 x 5.4 x 3.8 cm. A showy and excellent, old-time combination specimen from the famous Neudorf area of Germany. Lustrous, translucent, yellow-green siderite rhombs and sparkly, ruby-jack sphalerite crystals are nicely clustered on matrix covered with sharp, water-clear quartz crystals on massive, layered quartz and sphalerite matrix. Highly representative OLD material, as the mines closed in 1903.
5.5 x 4.2 x 2.9 cm. The photo shows very well how dramatic and aesthetic this Eastern European galena specimen is. The crystals have a fine shiny luster, and pretty corner bevels. Minor pyrite and quartz crystals add attractive accents.
6 x 5.5 x 3 cm. Just a stunning Dal’negorsk combo specimen. The calcites not only have wonderfully sharp poker-chip form, but a lovely pastel pink color from manganese. They sit on a beautifully contrasting matrix of dark crystallized sphalerite. The calcites are actually like little sandwiches, transparent in the middle and milky-translucent on the faces. Fluorescent orange.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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