HEF23-38
Cassiterite
Pingwu beryl mine, Mount Little Xuebaoding, Mianyang, Sichuan, China
Miniature, 4.8 x 3.3 x 3.0 cm
Ex. Kurt Hefendehl
$1,250.00 Payment Plan Available
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The Pingwu Mine, as well as the other mines in the Mount Xuebaoding area, have produced some of China's most distinctive and signature specimens. These include Cassiterites, Scheelites and Beryls, with some of the finest-crystallized Cassiterites in the world having come from Pingwu. This single crystal, complex and nearly doubly-terminated (one superb termination and one has the contact), is simply dazzling. Yes, it's hard to imagine describing an almost jet-black crystal that way, but the luster and form are so phenomenal that the term applies. Just move it around in your hand... Each of the four main prism faces transition in two, very subtle, termination faces, amazing in itself, and the subtle complexities continue from there. There are even flashes of cinnamon that add to the aesthetics and intrigue. This is an excellent, and very unusual for its habit, Cassiterite specimen. Cassiterite with this crystal shape is found at about 1 in 1000, compared to the more common styles you see. It is old material, generally, as is this one.