Smythite, Calcite

G

0 for sale

Smythite in calcite, 4 cm, from Bloomington, Indiana. Ed Rushton, a Purdue classmate, and even then (1956), a dealer in fine minerals (Camden Mineral company), knew all the nearby collecting locations, and we went together to this quarry in Bloomington (now a housing development). I found this rare iron sulfide (Fe3S4), an analog to magnetite (Fe3O4), as black specks embedded in calcite. Ed had a great collection in the 50s; he unfortunately passed away soon after, and his collection, left to Purdue University where his father was a professor, soon disappeared.