Betekhtinite with Bornite (rare and fine) (ex David Burgess Collection)

Item Description

There are several sulfide species found in excellent crystals from the Dzhezkazgan Mine. Some of the most well-known sulfides are Betekhtinite, Bornite and Chalcocite. Some of the best examples of Bornite found in the last few decades came out of this contemporary classic locale. This piece was mined in the mid 1990s, and features lustrous, striated, thin prismatic crystals of the very rare copper iron lead sulfide Betekhtinite measuring up to 1.3 cm long associated with pseudo-dodecahedral (they're actually orthorhombic) crystals of dark grey Bornite measuring up to 1.0 cm across sitting on white Calcite on matrix. The quality is very good for both the Betekhtinite and the Bornite. Very little damage that I can see, and a wonderful representation of this now nearly 30 year old material that hasn't been available on the market in any capacity in many years. From the worldwide collection of David Burgess (1951-2016) with a label from noted rare mineral dealer Josef Vajdak along with another label from the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow. David was a prolific species collector from Newington, Connecticut, and the namesake for the extremely rare cobalt arsenate species Burgessite, which he discovered.