Cassiterite (rare habit for the locality)

Item Description

The Pingwu Mine is world famous for producing some of the most beautiful and unique mineral specimens from any Chinese locality. The best Cassiterites ever found in China have come from this mine and are truly incredible for the species. Typically, we see complex twins of Cassiterite from this mine, but THIS piece is quite different as it features a prismatic habit with what appears to be only a tiny bit of twinning on the terminations. The broad faces on the front of the piece are rare from this locality, and it's a wonderfully esoteric specimen to add to any suite of Cassiterites or Chinese minerals. The crystal is opaque, but there are slightly reddish-brown colored spots on the back that you can see in good lighting. While both terminations can be seen on the specimen, it is completely sheered in half on the back, so it's not a complete crystal. I acquired this piece in the early days of when Pingwu material started showing up on the market.