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Crocoite

$120.00

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Brilliant orange red lustrous crystals of prismatic crocoite to 0.4 cm in length scattered across the top of this matrix with micro green crystals of pyromorphite. In good condition. The Platt Mine, located near Dundas in western Tasmania, Australia, is situated within a geologically complex region dominated by Neoproterozoic to Cambrian sedimentary and volcanic rocks that were later intruded by Devonian granites. Ore-bearing fluids from these igneous intrusions filled fractures and fault lines in the surrounding host rock, depositing rich lead and silver ores that drove intense commercial mining activity in the Dundas district from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century. Beyond its historic mining output, the Platt Mine became world-famous among mineral collectors for producing exceptional specimens of crocoite, a vibrant lead chromate mineral. These prized specimens formed in the upper oxidation zones of the deposit, where circulating groundwater rich in chromium reacted with weathering lead minerals to grow delicate, brilliant orange-red prismatic crystals along open cavities and fractures in the weathered rock.