Baryte (RARE Brazilian locality)

Item Description

This is the ONLY specimen of Baryte we've ever seen from the famous Morro Velho gold mine in Brazil, which is best known to collectors for minerals like Siderite, Dolomite and Pyrrhotite, which are actually all present on this specimen, leaving no doubt as to its origin. Obviously the focus of this specimen is the big, very thin, tabular, crystal of Baryte on the front of the specimen, which may appear to be opaque, but actually shows a bit of a light golden hue around the edges when backlit. On the back you can see small rhombs of greenish-brown Siderite along with colorless gemmy rhombs of Dolomite, and little brassy metallic crystals of Pyrrhotite, which are all indicative of Morro Velho. The Baryte crystal is actually doubly-terminated and largely undamaged (I can only seen one broken spot on the right side of the crystal, but otherwise it's in fine condition). Now this piece may not win any awards for a Baryte, but for the locality, it's a really impressive and fine quality example that you're not likely to find anywhere else on the market. The piece is over 50 years old, as it was added to Alvaro's collection on August 14, 1970. It's exactly the kind of specialized locality specimen you would expect to see in such a deep comprehensive Brazilian collection.
As mentioned, this piece is from the collection of recently deceased Alvaro Lucio, arguably the most well-known and accomplished mineral dealer and collector in Brazil. Alvaro graduated with a degree in civil engineering, mining and metallurgy from the Escola de Minas de Ouro Preto in 1949. He began his PhD in the United States and completed it at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He worked as a professor of extractive metallurgy at UFMG, and also as a technical consultant for several companies in the sector. He was the author of several works, published in books and magazines around the world. He received several honors for his contribution to the development of metallurgy and the introduction of metallurgical physical chemistry in Brazil. His knowledge, solicitousness and enthusiasm will be greatly missed in the mineral world.