Chalcopyrite

Unknown Owner

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This handsome, scintillating, metallic, blue-purple specimen of Chalcopyrite balls has great composition! This particular piece is composed of some of the larger Chalcopyrite balls we've seen; up to 2 cm! A total of nine, nearly perfect Chalcopyrite spheres comprise this showy miniature. The two contacts on the one sphere provide a window into the layer below that is a dark, variegated, flat blue-gray and brassy colored interior. The contrast between the sparkly exterior and the matte interior provides great color and textural contrast along with visual appeal. This is an attractive piece of this material. Analysis of these strange specimens has revealed interesting ideas about their formation, and also so far shown every sign of natural origin (read up on the scientific analysis of these at https://bit.ly/2MPR6Fi). These came out in a few large pockets, in 2018 into 2019, and we bought most of them. Still today, collectors can pick up loose small spheres of this material in easily accessed areas near the surface entrance of this mine (yes, we have video), a small mine once worked for gold, near other more productive mines in the Daye area. I would argue that these strange specimens are some of the most unusual and attractive of recent Chinese mineral discoveries.