Enargite on Pyrite with Wavellite (RARE association for the locality!)

Item Description

This is a notably RARE specimen from the Quiruvilca Mine in Peru, but it's not because of the sulfides, rather the presence of radiating aggregates of colorless WAVELLITE, which has been x-rayed and confirmed. To the best of my knowledge, this is the ONLY mine in Peru where this well-known phosphate has been reported. In nearby Bolivia, there are many mines where Wavellite has been found with various sulfides, but this is incredibly hard to find from Peru. The majority of the specimen features little metallic grey crystals of Enargite which are coating blocky pyritohedral crystals of metallic golden Pyrite, and if you flip the piece over, you can see tiny orange to red colored Orpiment, a verification that the piece is from Quiruvilca. You would be hard-pressed to find another one of these on the market, they were mined decades ago, and if you collect sulfides, unusual associations or minerals from Peru, don't pass this one up.
This piece comes from the collection of Art Soregaroli.