Baryte (uncommon locality)

Item Description

A gorgeous small cabinet display specimen of this hard to find material from the historic Juanita Mine (near the Kelly Mine) in New Mexico. Pieces of this size and quality are certainly seldom seen on the market, and if you're a New Mexico mineral collector or a fan of worldwide Barytes, this is a choice example to add to your collection. The Juanita Mine dates back to 1866, and according to the entry on mindat.org, the mine closed in 1937, so most pieces you'll find apparently are close to 100 years old. Specimen hosts a beautiful group comprising sharp, well-formed, blades of Baryte with the largest individual crystal measuring up to 1.8 cm, aesthetically perched atop matrix. The Barytes have an iron oxide coating, but you can see on the back there is a small contacted area revealing they are essentially white/colorless. Excellent condition, and certainly desirable for the rare locality. An excellent piece of this notably hard to find material from what is the "oldest claim in the Kelly region" according to mindat.
From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974.