Fluorite with Calcite, Chalcopyrite - image 1

Fluorite with Calcite, Chalcopyrite

Unknown Owner

A lovely cluster of glassy gemmy purple, this with some bluish color zoning, without matrix. Crystallized naturally all around with no points of attachment, small crystals of chalcopyrite are present. On the backside of the piece amber colored glassy gemmy crystals of calcite are present. This is in super condition. This would have been collected in the mid 1980s.The Denton Mine in Hardin County, Illinois was part of the Illinois Kentucky Fluorspar District, a region that became one of the leading sources of fluorite in the United States during the 20th century. The mine worked fluorite vein deposits hosted in limestone and produced fluorite along with associated minerals such as calcite, galena, and sphalerite. Operations were carried out by underground mining methods and contributed to the districts role in supplying fluorspar for steel and chemical industries. The mine is now inactive but remains known among collectors for fluorite specimens from southern Illinois.