Baryte (classic material)

Item Description

The Baryte crystals from the Shangulowe Mine in DR Congo are iconic in the mineral world. Not only are they the finest specimens of Baryte found at any locality in DR Congo, but they are memorable for their wonderful color, due to Malachite associations. Even though these pieces were found a couple decades ago, they are still well-known to collectors and dealers alike. This piece features a group of rather lustrous, very sharp, soft blue-grey colored, fairly thick prismatic crystals of Baryte with classic "chisel-shaped" terminations measuring 3.2 cm long aesthetically perched atop oxidized matrix. If you look closely, you can see a tiny bit of acicular Malachite sitting at the base of the Baryte crystals.  I looked at the piece closely with a loupe and I can see a tiny nick on the upper left corner of the front of the group, and the back has a contacted area where it grew against the pocket wall, not truly damage, but an interrupted growth. Lastly, the Barites show a wonderful blue fluorescence under UV light. A very eye-catching example of this beloved material from the Shangulowe Mine. Valued at $1,200. From the collection of Richard ("Rich") Kosnar (1946-2007), the well-known mineral dealer and collector from Colorado. He was the namesake for the rare zirconium phosphate mineral, Kosnarite.