Ferberite

Unknown Owner

A mostly complete lustrous terminated crystal of ferberite measuring 2.0 cm in size along one edge of a massive quartz matrix. Mining at Zinnwald, located on the border of Saxony, Germany and Bohemia in the Czech Republic, has focused on tin deposits since the 15th century. The district is hosted in greisen altered granite at the crest of the Erzgebirge and contains cassiterite as the principal tin ore along with wolframite, lithium minerals, and various sulfides. Underground workings expanded during the early modern period and continued intermittently into the 20th century, contributing to the regions long mining tradition. Zinnwald is also well known to mineral collectors for species such as zinnwaldite mica and other minerals associated with tin bearing greisen systems.