Description
There are many minerals which may be classified as a French classic or even iconic, but without any shadow of doubt, Pyromorphite from Les Farges mine, just east of the town of Ussel, is right up there amongst the best. One of the joys of Pyromorphite from this locality is its variety of colour and habit. This cabinet specimen is a continuous carpet of oily, mid-leaf-green acicular crystals averaging 4 to 7 mm long but occasionally over 1 cm. The hexagonal prisms are slender with parallel sides, but as the crystal size exceeds 7 mm's, the prisms tend to barrel in the centre or taper towards their terminations. All the smaller crystals change colour close to their termination, becoming a lemon to mustard-yellow with a lime green pinacoid. The naturally flat base, although itself richly encrusted with Pyromorphite crystals, reveals a dark chocolate-brown iron-rich matrix. An incredibly sculptural specimen of colour zoned Pyromorphite from the Les Farges mine in Limousin, France.
Details
ColorsYellow, Brown
SizeCabinet
Dimensions9.5 x 7.4 x 6.0 cm
Species
Pym
Origin
