Chalcopyrite (rare locality specimen) (ex Hal Miller Collection)

Item Description

A very hard to find specimen from the old Bufa Mine in Mexico featuring some excellent quality, sharp, brassy, metallic, well-formed crystals of Chalcopyrite measuring up to 8 mm sitting on prismatic Quartz with associated black Sphalerite. I've only seen a few Chalcopyrites from this locality, but THIS piece is noteworthy because the crystals are not tightly intergrown, but rather isolated on the Quartz, giving them distinction. Now it should be noted that some crystals are broken, and we've highlighted the best ones in the photos, but the piece is not without damage. If you collect sulfides or Mexican minerals, it's quite difficult to get your hands on a Bufa Chalcopyrite, so don't miss out. This piece comes from the collection of Hal Miller formerly of Boulder, Colorado. Hal was a chemist, a well-known collector, mineral & mining enthusiast, and he actually worked on the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. Hal along with Richard Kosnar also co-wrote the "Colorado Mineral Belt" article in the "Colorado I" issue of Mineralogical Record in 1976.