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Mineral Specimens with Sphalerite
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7.9 x 5.9 x 5.4 cm. Elegant, slender prisms of quartz stick up from a matrix of rounded dark sphalerite crystals - accented by sparing chalcopyrite.
10.0 x 7.1 x 3.7 cm. I remember that these were some of the first Sphalerites to come out of China about 10 years ago, and the color is amazing. This specimen feature a few sharp, lustrous, gemmy, RICH red-orange color modified crystals of Sphalerite on sulfide matrix. When these crystals are backlit, the color they exhibit is gorgeous, and truly doesn’t look quite like any other mine in the world. There aren’t many localities producing gem quality Sphalerite these days, and these specimens from Shizhuyuan are becoming more and more difficult to find.
7.2 x 4.6 x 3.2 cm. These Chinese sphalerites are certainly some of the most impressive ever found for the species, due to their size, luster and gemminess. The coffee-colored crystals here measure to 2 cm across, with gemmy coffee color and glassy luster. They sit beautifully on a bed of quartz.
5.6 x 4.4 x 4.2 cm. This is a strange and gorgeous combination specimen from Dalnegorsk. It features a very large compound crystal of sphalerite, with dozens of flashy faces, which are accented by golden chalcopyrite that has filled the recesses between the sphalerite faces! You can see some galena on the underside as well, a common association with Dalnegorsk sphalerites.
15.0 x 1.6 x 4.3 cm. A very large, very rich Elmwood Mine association specimen. Isolated on the matrix is a very large (3.5 cm) compound crystal of sphalerite, a very deep wine-red, with two smaller crystals nearby. Little rhombs of dolomite sprinkle the sparkly bed of calcite crystals.
5.5 x 4.0 x 3.8 cm. A MOST UNUSUAL and showy, bi-colored, cuboctahedral fluorite crystal on stepped and frosted fluorite and sphalerite from the very recent finds at the Gibralter Mine at Naica, Mexico. Part of the super gemmy and glassy cuboct fluorite and the stepped fluorite is totally colorless, while most of the fluorite is a very pleasing green. Some of the cuboct faces are also very lightly frosted, while others are water-clear, with a television-like view into the crystal interior. The distinct color zoning is remarkable and the photos can only convey a portion of their true likeness, due to the high lustre and glassiness. The cuboct is damage-free. This is classic Naica material.
5.6 x 4.2 x 2.7 cm. A uniquely aesthetic Eastern European combo specimen, in that you have a dome-shaped compound crystal of sphalerite which is wonderfully ringed with sharp poker-chip calcites! A bit of natural luck that ended up in a beautiful specimen, like a flower!
12.1 x 6.5 x 4.8 cm. Good Elmwood specimens have disappeared with depressing speed since the closing of the mine. Here you have a BIG specimen that is extremely striking. What you cannot see here is the INTENSE purple color of the crystals; under good light, they are just magnificent. But what makes them extra-nice is that the sphalerite they sit on is not amorphous, but really well-crystallized, which adds a lot to the piece (the matrix is solid sphalerite, the zinc ore that was the reason for the mine in the first place). The fluorites measure up to 2.2 cm along the edge.
5.4 x 3.9 x 2.9 cm. These Chinese sphalerites are just amazing for their size and deep, gemmy wine color - they were snapped up very quickly when they came out as some of the best sphalerites ever, from anywhere! This one measures 3 cm (!) and is beautifully isolated and showcased on a carefully trimmed matrix of grey quartz. It is complete, undamaged and has fine luster and clarity.
13.4 x 10.9 x 8.9 cm. This is a very large, spectacular Eastern European specimen. It is a dazzling burst of frosty, slender quartz crystals, to 5 cm, festooned with sparkly golden pyrite, and you can see euhedral crystals of sphalerite here and there nestled amongst the quartz crystals as well. Dazzling!
7.5 x 4.5 x 3.0 cm. A showy, classic and rich ore specimen from the famed Butte District of Montana. Platy sphalerite is dusted with lightly iridescent bornite. Tiny, bright enargite crystals and needle quartz are accessory minerals. Ex. Gene Meieran and James Zigras Collections.
7.0 x 3.7 x 2.5 cm. Bbeautifully gemmy, twinned and un-twinned, red sphalerite crystals are very aesthetically set on this quartz crystal-covered plate from China. The central, 2.4 cm crystal is superb, complete all-around and is very well placed. The entire piece is pristine, except for a small contact on the lower front of the large sphalerite crystal. Choice material and considered some of the finest sphalerites in the world. The unretouched backlit photo highlights the gemminess and gorgeous red color saturation of the sphalerites.
4.0 x 2.8 x 2.7 cm. A UNIQUE and SHOWY, near floater cluster of blocky, sharp, black sphalerite crystals from a very small recent Bolivian find at a NEW locality, the Nanitay Mine. The step-growth sphalerites have a magical chatoyant shimmer that the photos catch only a part of. Fascinating crystals and highly regarded.
6.4 x 4.3 x 3.5 cm. A super-complex crystal of fluorite from the recent finds at the classic old Naica locality - much prettier in person, because the green is brighter and more saturated, but just very hard to capture in pics. The fluorite is transparent in the interior; its faces are made up of hundreds of little dodecahedral and cuboctahedral forms - look at it through a loupe when you get it, it is fascinating! There is a bit of sphalerite attached.
8.4 x 6.4 x 4.4 cm. A BIG, complex crystal of brassy pyrrhotite with stepped form, decorated with little sphalerites that have a superb glassy luster - a beautiful combo! These days, just about all good pyrrhotites come from Dalnegorsk. This is an OLD one from Santa Eulalia. A collection card accompanying it shows it to have been in the Dick Hauck collection, and was acquired 36 years ago, in 1971.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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share specimen![Quartz, Sphalerite, Chalcopyrite from Huaron Mining District, San Jose de Huayllay District, Cerro de Pasco, Daniel Alcides Carrión Province, Pasco Department, Peru [db_pics/mdpics/MD-130110a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-130110a.jpg)
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