Chrysocolla, Atacamite, Quartz

Item Description

A gorgeous contrasting specimen of 3 mineral species from the famous Lily Mine in Peru (see our episode of Mineral Explorers for video of us going into the mine!). Chrysocolla "gem silica" from Lily Mine at its best, in thick and translucent layers like you see here, rivals the old material from Arizona that has been treasured by lapidary artists for 60 years or so. This is both a specimen, as is; and a potential lapidary piece for excellent carving rough. Sparkling quartz and a few bright, sharp crystals of atacamite sit on the bright blue surface of the rolling, thick layer of chrysocolla - together making for a gorgeous combination specimen. It is over 1 cm thick in places. At the prices for gem rough of the material, once cut and treated, it is worth probably more, but it would be a shame to destroy the specimen and so we have chosen to auction it to a collector rather than send to the cutters to make into earrings and such. See our journey underground here on YouTube · Mineral Explorers · Jan 1, 2021 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1aHWYzCYGQ).