Ferberite and Arsenopyrite with Quartz - image 1
Ferberite and Arsenopyrite with Quartz - image 2
specimen video

Ferberite and Arsenopyrite with Quartz

Unknown Owner
Classic bladed Ferberite with Quartz and Arsenopyrite from the famous Panasqueira mine, Covilhã, Castelo Branco District, Portugal. Two well-formed bladed Ferberite crystals, individually to over 5 cm in length, intersect at about 90 degrees and cut through a freestanding colourless prismatic Quartz crystal. Minor Arsenopyrite occurs around the base. The Ferberite crystals are nicely terminated with an unusual iridescence upon the faces of the termination and display the classic linear striations up the main bladed crystal face.

Product details

Species
Ferberite, Quartz, ArsenopyriteAbout Ferberite →
SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions6.2 x 9.4 x 6.2 cm
Added on12/02/2024
Locality
Portugal, Panasqueira MinesRegional guide →

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
06/2026Unknown Owner$1,200.00
—Crystal ClassicsNot disclosed

Learn more

Ferberite
Mineral guide
Learn about Ferberite
iron-rich wolframite with stout blade-like prisms and deep black luster; forms in hydrothermal tin-tungsten deposits; prized on quartz or fluorite.
Ferberite
Regional guide
Ferberite from Panasqueira Mines, Portugal
Panasqueira ferberite is the European classic against which most crystallized ferberite is judged. The best specimens are not merely black ore crystals: they are sculptural, high-luster, metallic to submetallic blades and thick tabular prisms, commonly striated, sometimes doubly terminated, and often set in the distinctive Panasqueira palette of white quartz, pearly muscovite, brown siderite, silvery arsenopyrite, purple to green fluorapatite, cassiterite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, calcite, and dolomite. In a cabinet, a good piece reads immediately as Panasqueira—black, heavy, sharp, and architectural, with the mine’s characteristic quartz-vein openness preserved in miniature.