|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
4MB33 - STANNITE on ZINKENITE - $ 95 SOLD SAN JOSE MINE, ORURO, BOLIVIA thumbnail, 1.6 X 1.5 X 1.5 cm
Cluster of crystals to 1 cm demonstrating a highly modified habit with an attractive patina, perched on striated zinkenite xls. A very good specimen for the species.
MD-152214 - Franckeite, Zinkenite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia miniature, 3.7 x 2.5 x 2.2 cm.
3.7 x 2.5 x 2.2 cm. This is one of the rarest sulfosalts in the world. This specimen is a very rich, incredibly rare, superb quality, crystallized specimen of the triclinic lead, tin, iron, antimony sulfosalt Franckeite consisting of somewhat "sword"-shaped crystals oriented into spherical aggregates forming the shape of a flower. They are associated with very rare silvery, prismatic "needles" of Zinkenite, which is a very uncommon association from any locality. Franckeite belongs to the only group of minerals that forms in naturally "round" or "cylindrical" shaped crystals. This specimen is over 30 years old and was part of the best find of the material. There were only a handful of good specimens, and well crystallized display pieces like this are few and far between. Ex. Brian Kosnar.
MD-152217 - Zinkenite, Stannite, Andorite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia small cabinet, 5.7 x 3.2 x 2.2 cm.
5.7 x 3.2 x 2.2 cm. These specimens came out of this mine two years ago, and are among some of my favorite "new finds" from Bolivia. This piece features a good sized, sharp, very dark silvery "brass" colored, twinned crystal of the rare copper iron tin sulfide Stannite with is associated with a greyish-brown color tabular crystal of Andorite on prismatic grey Zinkenite matrix. There were only a handful of these specimens, and for my money, they are superior to most Stannite from China because the Chinese crystals are sometimes composite crystal groups consisting of many smaller crystals to form a larger aggregate, and nowhere else besides this find have I ever seen twinned Stannite crystals like these. To find these specimens on matrix is next to impossible, as well over 95% of them were floaters off matrix. This is a very choice specimen and a great quality piece for what it is. Ex. Brian Kosnar.
MD-162813 - Zinkenite, Pyrite - - Archived Itos Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia cabinet, 10.1 x 4.7 x 2.4 cm.
10.1 x 4.7 x 2.4 cm. A superb and very rich CABINET specimen of radiating clusters of lustrous, steel-gray zinkenite blades on nicely contrasting pyrite matrix from the Itos and San Jose Mines of Bolivia. This is an exceptional specimen for this lead, antimony sulfosalt from this famous locality.
MD-176367 - Zinkenite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia small cabinet, 5.5 x 3.7 x 2.2 cm.
5.5 x 3.7 x 2.2 cm. A fine specimen of metallic-lustre, acicular zinkenite crystal sprays from recent finds at the San Jose Mine in Bolivia.
MD-177567 - Andorite, Zinkenite - - Archived Itos Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia small cabinet, 6.0 x 3.0 x 2.2 cm.
6.0 x 3.0 x 2.2 cm. Sharp, metallic-silver, flat crystals of andorite here lay perched upon a vertical spray of zinkenite crystals, making for a really unique combinatorial specimen from this classic locality which was well known for both species.
MD-186428 - Zinkenite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia miniature, 5.0 x 4.7 x 3.5 cm.
5.0 x 4.7 x 3.5 cm. An excellent and very rich specimen of metallic-lustre, acicular zinkenite crystals from recent finds at the San Jose Mine in Bolivia. Zinkenite is an uncommon lead, antimony sulfide and this is a fine, aesthetic piece.
MD-19636 - Zinkenite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia thumbnail, 2.9 x 2.7 x 1.8 cm
These specimens came out of this mine many years ago and are one of the rarest associations from Bolivia. This piece is a great combination of two rather rare minerals. Zinkenite is lead antimony sulfide and Stannite is copper iron tin sulfide. The Zinkenite crystals are the elongated silvery colored crystals, and the Stannite crystals are the dark "brass" colored crystals. This is a very choice specimen of a hard to find combo from Bolivia! 2.9 x 2.7 x 1.8 cm
MD-208659 - Zinkenite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia small cabinet, 5.9 x 3.8 x 1.5 cm.
5.9 x 3.8 x 1.5 cm. Zinkenite is a metallic sulfosalt, a lead antimony sulfide. It often occurs as acicular needle-like crystals, and is one of only a few sulfide minerals that appear this way (jamesonite, boulangerite and millerite are other sulfides that form similar acicular crystals). Here, however, you have large, sizeable crystals, rather than just hair-like ones, and this is a very rich specimen for the species. The striated crystals have great luster. The crystals only at the very ends are not terminated - probably both ends touched the pocket walls, and this is typical. However the crystals you do see are really robust, unusually lustrous and long.
MD-210566 - Andorite, Zinkenite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia miniature, 4.2 x 3.4 x 1.6 cm.
4.2 x 3.4 x 1.6 cm. From the find in November 2004. Andorite is lead, silver, antimony sulfosalt and was named for the Hungarian mineral collector Andor von Semsey (1833-1923), who holds a remarkable distinction for having two mineral species named after him (andorite and semseyite). This mine at Oruro dates Spanish mining as far back as the year 1595 and was mined by Incan Indians for several centuries prior. In all the years of mining, the specimens found in 2004 are undoubtedly, the world’s finest Andorites extant. These specimens were extracted from the same vein system worked by the father of Bolivian mineralogy, Federico Ahlfeld. Ahlfeld worked the San Jose mine and Itos mine (the other significant andorite locality at the same mountain in Oruro) when the mines were used predominantly as a major sources of tin to the United States during WWII. The best examples of the species have come from Bolivia. The piece features a few "classic", steel-grey, multi-layered crystal groups aesthetically intermixed with rare, prismatic, lustrous Zinkenite "needles" on pyritohedral Pyrite matrix.
MD-210789 - Chalcostibite, Tetrahedrite, Zinkenite - - Archived Boldut Mine, Cavnic (Kapnic; Kapnik), Maramures Co., Romania miniature, 4.4 x 4.2 x 2.3 cm.
4.4 x 4.2 x 2.3 cm. Chalcostibite is a rare copper, antimony sulfosalt. This fine combination piece from the Boldut Mine of Romania features shiny, gray metallic blades and needles of chalcostibite clusters scattered on lustrous tetrahedrite crystals and associated with zinkenite, quartz and calcite. Chalcostibite was never common at Cavnic and this major discovery was made in 1990.
MD-215139 - Zinkenite - - Archived Eureka District, Eureka Co., Nevada, USA small cabinet, 6.5 x 6.2 x 2.3 cm.
6.5 x 6.2 x 2.3 cm. Zinkenite is a lead antimony sulfide I always thought of as coming from Bolivia. I had never seen a US specimen of any note, before. Here we have one, though. It is a venerable old piece from the collection of Dr. Egleston, after whom Eglestonite is named.
MD-224940 - Zinkenite, Kaolinite - - Archived Itos Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia small cabinet, 8.4 x 7.4 x 4.4 cm.
8.4 x 7.4 x 4.4 cm. Aesthetic diverging sprays of lustrous, flattened, black zinkenite crystals richly cover the 3-dimensional, platy, kaolinite matrix on this fine, rare, old-time specimen from the Itos Mine at Ouro City, Bolivia. This classic, seldom-seen combination specimen was collected by Sam Gordon on one of his several trips to Bolivia, Peru and Chile in the 1920s and 30s for the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. The old label of "parakeeleyite" means that the zinkenite had not been correctly identified, when collected. Confirmed by analysis, on my end, via Bart Cannon's lab.
MD-226344 - Zinkenite, Kaolinite - - Archived Itos Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia small cabinet, 6.9 x 4.9 x 3.0 cm.
6.9 x 4.9 x 3.0 cm. Aesthetic diverging sprays of lustrous, flattened, black zinkenite crystals richly cover the curved, 3-dimensional, platy, kaolinite matrix on this fine, rare, old-time specimen from the Itos Mine at Ouro City, Bolivia. This classic, seldom-seen combination specimen was collected by Sam Gordon on one of his several trips to Bolivia, Peru and Chile in the 1920s and 1930s for the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. Confirmed by analysis, on my end, via Bart Cannon’s lab. Ex. Philadelpia Academy Collection.
MD-228422 - Andorite, Zinkenite - - Archived San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia miniature, 3.2 x 3.1 x 3.0 cm.
3.2 x 3.1 x 3.0 cm. From the historic find in November 2004. Andorite is lead, silver, antimony sulfosalt and was named for the Hungarian mineral collector Andor von Semsey (1833-1923), who holds a remarkable distinction for having two mineral species named after him (andorite and semseyite). This mine at Oruro dates Spanish mining as far back as the year 1595 and was mined by Incan Indians for several centuries prior. In all the years of mining, the specimens found in 2004 are undoubtedly, the world’s finest Andorites extant. These specimens were extracted from the same vein system worked by the father of Bolivian mineralogy, Federico Ahlfeld. Ahlfeld worked the San Jose mine and Itos mine (the other significant andorite locality at the same mountain in Oruro) when the mines were used predominantly as a major sources of tin to the United States during WWII. The best examples of the species have come from Bolivia. The piece features a few "classic", steel-grey, multi-layered crystal groups aesthetically intermixed with rare, prismatic, lustrous Zinkenite "needles". Upon close inspection, one can see small yellow and whitish-yellow Cervantite crystals, along with some very small bronze colored Ferrokesterite crystals (less than 1 mm), and I have illustrated this in the photos.
All Content and Design ©1996-2010 The ArkenstonePowered by http://mineralwebsites.comBy-species Galleries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
