Cassiterite (excellent gemmy cyclic twins)

Item Description

There are many great tin producing localities in Bolivia, but the actual ORE from many of those mines is in the form of world-class Cassiterite crystals. There are hundreds of localities in Bolivia where Cassiterite is found, but the magnificent great tin mines at Viloco (sometimes called Araca) have produced some of the most magnificent Cassiterite specimens extant. Not only are the crystals from this locality notably large and impressive, Viloco is the ONLY mine in Bolivia to produce GEM QUALITY crystals of Cassiterite. This wonderful miniature specimen features superb quality, sharp, highly lustrous, cyclic twinned crystal groups of Cassiterite measuring up to 3.2 cm across, associated with minor bright silvery Arsenopyrite, and no matrix. On the surface, the Cassiterites might look black, but when they're backlit, you can see that they show fantastic golden / honey colored hues inside. Nearly every crystal on this specimen passes light in some respect, and the piece looks beautiful both in reflected light and with backlighting. These classic specimen from Viloco are simply not seen for sale in today's market, , and they deserve more attention and respect for what they are, since they are among the finest examples of crystallized Cassiterite in the world. Priced in our inventory at $2,500.