Barite from Rowley Mine, Arizona, USA - image 1

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Barite from Rowley Mine, Arizona, USA

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Classic Arizona specimen with gemmy orange windowpane type wulfenite crystals to 0.5 cm in size across the top of a barite matrix with micro orange crystalline mimetite. In good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark. He collected the piece on November 26, 1982.Located in the Painted Rock Mountains of Maricopa County, Arizona, the Rowley Mine was discovered in 1899 as a gold-bearing copper vein cutting through tertiary andesite flows and fault zones. Although commercial metal production during the early twentieth century yielded limited economic success, intense oxidation within the hydrothermal veins created an extraordinary environment for secondary minerals. The site became world-famous among mineral collectors for producing exceptional, highly lustrous honey-yellow to orange tabular crystals of wulfenite, frequently accompanied by vibrant mimetite, vanadinite, and various copper and lead secondary species. Controlled access to the historic mine dumps and underground workings has allowed generations of field collectors to secure world-class microminerals and cabinet specimens from this classic desert locality.