Sphalerite from Elmwood Mine, Tennessee, USA - image 1

Updated 2d ago

Sphalerite from Elmwood Mine, Tennessee, USA

Help improve this record

No owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

Spectacular large specimen, this crystallized black sphalerite matrix is mostly covered on top with gemmy lustrous purple cubic crystals of fluorite measuring to 1.5 cm on edge. White crystallized groupings of barite measuring as large as 9.0 cm across are scattered throughout. Small crystals of galena are present as well. Very minimal micro-cleaving present, Ray specimen of this size with this many crystals present, this is in terrific condition. The Elmwood complex, comprising primarily of the Elmwood, Gordonsville, and Cumberland Mines, in Smith County, Tennessee, is situated within Paleozoic carbonate rock formations where mineralizing hydrothermal brines circulated through ancient, open solution cavities, faults, and breccia zones. Originally developed for industrial underground mining starting in the 1970s, the facility gained global renown among mineral collectors because miners recovered world-class crystal specimens from vugs and cavities intersected during operations. While the complex has experienced intermittent commercial closures and changes in corporate ownership over the decades, it remains a legendary locality celebrated for producing some of the finest aesthetic mineral crystals ever discovered.