Crystallized Zinc (Synthetic)

Item Description

Here we have an incredibly rare and fine quality specimen of crystallized Zinc from the Weirton Steel Corporation in West Virginia. The label accompanying the piece states that the specimen was formed in a laboratory furnace at Weirton Steel. Native Zinc is nearly impossible to find in nature, and some of the limited examples I've seen are those from either slag localities or from the concentrate of metal (specifically gold) placers. For what this is, it's a remarkable example of Zinc as the crystals are large (measuring up to 1.7 cm), distinct, sharp and have a beautiful white-silver metallic hue. The crystals have excellent elongated hexagonal form, and several of them are actually doubly-terminated. The piece is crystallized on all sides with minimal damage and looks beautiful up close. For reference according to Wikipedia, the "Weirton Steel Corporation was an integrated steel mill founded in 1909 by Ernest T. Weir. In 1905, Weir and his partner, James Phillips, bought a tin mill in Clarksburg, West Virginia. In 1929, Weir merged Weirton Steel with Detroit's Michigan Steel and Cleveland's M. A. Hanna Company to form National Steel Corporation. National Steel became on the largest steel producers in the United States." A really unique and impossibly hard to find specimen that would delight any fan of native elements.