Fluorite on Dolomite (Illustrated)

Item Description

People think that Shangbao is a major producing mine today and - it is most definitely NOT. It is officially closed for economic mining now even thought it produces in bits and spurts, as old miners go back into old tunnels and look for pockets and pillars in zones worked 10-30 years ago now. It is dangerous and difficult work. Few good things come out today and it is, rather, a tourist location to show tourists a sanitized old mine on a paid tour. So, most of what you see for sale is, like this, older material coming to light from old stashes. Gorgeous and complex coloration, combined with a total transparency, makes this Shangbao Mine piece stand out from its peers, many of which tend to be more simple mixes of color, or smaller crystals if this gemmy. Alternating highlighted edges of purple, and purple basal faces on the modified cuboctahedral crystals, contrast with the teal blue color of the fluorite core. The larger fluorite crystal atop is 4.5 cm across, almost two inches! The sidecar crystal is unusual in that it IS complete, but looks like half a crystal - as if a knife sliced it cleanly through during growth, and then the surface continued growing to form a new layer of skin over the core. So, you can look right into its middle. It probably formed as a constrained growth against a now-missing dolomite or feldspar crystal, giving it that straight edge. The two crystals together are perched nicely atop the knoll of dolomite to display to their maximum extent, and complete all around. The piece has a color and transparency that make it glow, even with only minimal backlighting. Illustrated in the Shangbao Issue of the Mineralogical Record, Vol. 42, No. 5 , 2011 (China IV). Note it is not a random illustration but a specific choice included in the definitive article on the locality! It is not only beautiful, but intellectually interesting for the unusual habit. It was long held in the private collection of dealer Ken Roberts, which we purchased in 2010. Ken was one of the major sources of Chinese minerals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, working at the time for a competitor of mine and going to China often. Luckily, he quit that company and sold us his collection shortly after, so we got all these lovely toys he had saved and kept for himself while somebody else paid for his trips! He was known for his superb eye for aesthetics and quality. Note this has no repairs or restorations. It is an example of the classic late 90s and early 2000s style from this unique locality.