Chlorargyrite var. Embolite - Caracoles mining district, Antofagasta, Chile

Chlorargyrite var. Embolite

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This fascinating historic late 19th century Chilean silver ore specimen requires some additional research, but may well reward the owner. Rich in small waxy greyish-cream microcrystals of Chlorargyrite var. Embolite sparsely scattered upon the iron-rich gossan surface there is also a larger white mineral which may well be something different. The accompanying old handwritten collection labels mention "Mina Disputa, Caracoles" which may well relate to the fact that the Caracoles mining area was once in Bolivia and then became a disputed area. When the silver mineralization was discovered in 1870, it was still in Bolivia, becoming part of Chile in 1879. The date of 1888 on one of the old labels relates to a publication by Plagemann in 1888, showing that the label was written sometime after that date. At small cabinet size, this is a good sized specimen from this classic silver mining district and comes from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).