Dolomite with Chalcopyrite (ex Willard Wulff Collection)

Item Description

A very attractive and good quality example of the seldom seen white Dolomites from the famous Eagle Mine in the abandoned mining town of Gilman in southeastern Eagle County. This specimen comes from the collection of Willard W. Wulff (1904-1998) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a prominent figure and collector of Colorado minerals. Wulff was one of the founding members of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society in 1936. You can read Willard's bio on the Mineralogical Record website here ( http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=1528 ). The piece comes with a typed label from Wulff on one of his famous 3x5 index cards that states the piece was acquired from Mrs. C. A. Robbie but erroneously says the specimen is "Calcite" coated with Chalcopyrite from the Empire Lead & Zinc Mine. The Empire Zinc Company was a subsidiary of the New Jersey Zinc Company. It originally held claims in the Gilman Mining district in Colorado. From 1912 to 1915, the New Jersey Zinc Company acquired and consolidated the mines as the Eagle Mines and operated Empire Zinc Company as a subsidiary, so the correct locality is the Eagle Mine. With regard to the Calcite designation, the piece is clearly Dolomite and looks exactly like other Dolomites from the Eagle Mine. Sharp, well-formed, rhombic Dolomite measuring up to 3.1 cm are studded with a selective deposition of metallic golden Chalcopyrite. Good quality all around with a only a little bit of peripheral damage, but very attractive for the material. If you collect Colorado minerals, carbonates or just well-crystallized example of common minerals, don't miss out on this one.