TOP SPHALERITE GALENA QUARTZ

TOP SPHALERITE GALENA QUARTZ

A Top Sphalerite Galena Quartz specimen to add to your Museum or outstanding collection.  This is the best specimen of metal crystals we have seen.  An outstanding specimen with lustrous, well formed crystals of Sphalerite and Galena.  Many terminated crystals clustered together with quartz crystals and some Pyrite.  This specimen would grace any collection or  Museum.  This specimen is from the premier location for this mineral.  A super piece, my photos don’t do it justice.  The skeletal Galena crystals show great reflection.

Location:
Borieva Mine, Madan, Bulgaria.

Dimensions:
29cm x 20.5cm x 10cm, 6600g

Sphalerite: ZnS
Sphalerite, also known as Blende or Zinc Blende, is the major ore of zinc. When pure (with little or no iron) it forms clear crystals with colours ranging from pale yellow (known as Cleophane) to orange and red shades (known as Ruby Blende), but as iron content increases it forms dark, opaque metallic crystals (known as Marmatite).

Quartz: SiO₂
Quartz is the most common mineral found on the surface of the Earth.  A significant component of many igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.  This natural form of silicon dioxide is found in an impressive range of varieties and colours.  There are many names for different varieties.

Galena: PbS or (Pb,Ag,As,Sb,Cu)S
Galena is the primary ore mineral of lead. Worked for its lead content as early as 3000 BC, it is found in ore veins with sphalerite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, tennantite-tetrahedrite, etc.  and in skarns, as well as in sedimentary rocks where it may replace carbonate beds or be deposited in pore spaces.  The crystals are bright when fresh but often tarnish after exposure to air and especially when people touch it.  Lead sulfide may contain impurities, such as silver, arsenic, antimony, and copper.