NATIVE Silver with Safflorite

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Specimens of Native Silver from the famous Ste Marie-aux-Mines area are extremely desirable, but most are very old and rarely attributed to a specific mine. There have been silver mines in the region since the 10th century, but there are three distinct sectors, only one of which is that old - Altenberg. Neuenberg was opened during the 16th century and saw much exploration relatively recently - in the 1960s. Bluttenberg is the least developed sector. This matrix-less miniature arborescent aggregate of Native Silver coated with the cobalt nickel iron arsenide mineral Safflorite is not attributed to a specific sector, or mine, but is full of character and very large compared with others from this area. Most of these arborescent, or dendritic specimens have been etched out of calcite or dolomite matrix. It is mounted on a small acrylic base for display purposes. A beautiful miniature specimen, and super rarity, from a most famous of silver-mining regions.