Calcite on Azurite (upper oxide zone of classic locale)

Item Description

The Kelly Mine, producer of perhaps the world's best Smithsonite (often occurring with Aurichalcite), has a good suite of other minerals that includes Calcite and Azurite. Primary Azurite is rare at Kelly, and the microcrystals here have superb, vibrant color and high luster. Combined with the Azurite are highly translucent, complex Calcites that range up to 1.3 cm. There is some contacting on the lower crystals, but that was simply unavoidable, and a necessary trade-off in the mining for this uncommon, and aesthetic, small cab. This came out of the Corley Collection in 1958, and immediately became #819 in Kay's collection. This is a very old specimen, preserving other copper species that are now simply not well known from this mine, and certainly came from the upper oxide zone, now depleted, of this famous locality.