Sphalerite

$3,000.00

$40.00 shipping
Seller offers an extended return window of up to 30 days
Ships from USA

This superb cabinet-sized display specimen from the recent discovery at Milpo mine, in the Atacocha mining district, Pasco province, Peru presents a great assemblage of species from this deposit, some of which are missing from most of the Fluorite specimens we have seen from there. Its main bed, or matrix, is bright golden metallic crystallized Pyrite upon which an unusually (for this deposit) well-crystallized layer of dark brown rounded Sphalerite crystals has developed. Sitting almost across the middle of the Sphalerite on the display surface are a line of three large well-formed octahedral Fluorite crystals with a fourth crystal isolated further along this display surface. Paler green in colour and translucent, these crystals have finely crystallized 'crazed' pyramidal faces and small, smooth, glassy, truncated cubic terminations, technically as cubo-octahedra. The largest Fluorite crystal reaches 3.2 cm across and all are in really great condition with superb complexity and quality to their crystal surfaces. In amongst the Sphalerite crystals at one end of the display surface are small gunmetal-grey Geocronite-Jordanite crystals adding in the rare species factor. A little white Quartz is also present as small narrow prismatic crystals. Despite the colour of the Fluorite being a little paler than some Milpo mine pieces, the shapely quality of these Fluorites and their wonderful association with Sphalerite and Geocronite makes this a serious collectors piece.