Sphalerite

Stunning Elmwood Mine Fluorite with Sphalerite
Elmwood fluorite with sphalerite, primarily sourced from the now-closed Elmwood mine in Tennessee, is a highly sought-after, classic mineral combination. It features brilliant, deep purple, cubic, or sometimes etched, fluorite crystals growing on, or associated with, dark, lustrous sphalerite (often “ruby jack” or black) and white barite, celebrated for high-quality, aesthetic, and fluorescent specimens.
Key Characteristics:
Location: The Elmwood Mine, Carthage, Smith County, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Mineral Association: Often found with lustrous black or red-black sphalerite and sometimes white barite.
Color & Form: Deep purple, grape-purple, or violet, frequently transparent and cubic. The crystals often show complex growth features, such as stepped or, in rare cases, etched “dissolution boxes”.
Rarity & Value: Highly sought after for its beauty and because the mine has ceased consistent production, making high-quality specimens rarer.
Metaphysical Properties: Considered a combination for enhancing mental clarity, reducing stress (fluorite), and promoting balance, focus, and spiritual growth (sphalerite).
Key Specimens & Features:
Stepped Crystals: The cubes are often composed of smaller, subparallel crystals, giving them a stepped appearance.
“Radiation Burn”: Occasionally, fluorite cubes show unusual, dark, radiation-like patterns, a unique feature on some of these specimens.
Etched Fluorite: Some, rarely, have been partially dissolved, leaving behind skeletal, or hollow”disposition box” shapes.

Fluorite specimen from Elmwood Mine, Smith County, Tennessee, USA.