Epidote with Quartz

Unknown Owner

Attractive green needlelike crystals of epidote across the front of a crystallized quartz matrix. In good condition.The La Gringa mine, situated in the Castrovirreyna District of the Huancavelica Department in Peru, is a notable locality for high-quality silicate minerals. Geologically, the deposit is part of a complex hydrothermal vein system hosted within Tertiary volcanic rocks, where mineral-rich fluids deposited a variety of species in open pockets and fissures. The site is particularly famous for its needle-like epidote crystals, which often occur as delicate, spray-like clusters or radiating acicular aggregates with a distinct olive-green to deep-pistachio color. Historically, the broader Castrovirreyna region has been a center for silver and base-metal mining since the Spanish colonial era, but the specific operations for specimen recovery at La Gringa gained international attention in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. While the mine has been worked primarily through small-scale underground efforts rather than massive industrial quarrying, it has remained a consistent producer of aesthetic specimens for the global market throughout the 2010s. The combination of high luster and the elegant, needle-like habit of the epidote found there has made La Gringa a definitive Peruvian locality for the species.