Crocoite

$2,000.00

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Bright apricot orange Crocoite crystals richly line an open vug, the surrounding matrix of which contains rich patches of the complex copper-lead chromate phosphate, Vauquelinite. This large miniature is from Callenberg in Glauchau, Saxony, Germany, where nickel was mined from a series of open pits in what is Europe's largest nickel deposit. This mine, despite being sited on the largest nickel deposit in Europe, went largely unknown by collectors until in 1977, when the lead chromate Crocoite was unexpectedly discovered in the North 1 open cut. The Crocoite forms characteristic acicular crystals, the largest of which spans the full width of the vug in the upper side of the specimen. The rare mineral Vauquelinite forms micro crystalline, earthy, yellowish-green patches. This is a lovely example of a species not readily associated with Saxony.