Gold in Quartz (mined 1960s)

Item Description

The famous Idarado Mine in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado was a major ore localities, producing some iconic specimens in its day. It was not only an important base metal producer, but it was also a major gold mine. The name of the mine comes from the combination of the Idaho based Sunshine Mining Company and Newmont Mining in Colorado (IDA-ho + coloRADO = IDARADO). Actual specimens of Gold are quite rare to find on the market these days from this locality. This is essentially a sawn slab of the actual ore of the mine featuring a tiny bit of micro "cloud" Gold in Quartz and sulfide matrix. If you collect Colorado Gold specimens or simply interesting pieces from the San Juan Mountain, don't miss out on this one, as they are hard to find on the market now.
From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave actually self-collected this specimen while he worked at the Idarado Mine in the 1960s. Dave is now retired from mining, but was formerly the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s, and the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".​