Gypsum (Kidwell Coll.)

Item Description

Striking radial sprays of beautiful lime-green and colorless gemmy gypsum blades cover this sculptural large undulating plate from near extinct open pit copper mines. Very common world-wide, gypsum is usually colorless. The Pernatty Lagoon is a playa lake near the copper mines and the copper-rich effluent from the mines has given this impressive piece their striking green color (post-mining), which varies year to year. These are from a limited 2005 find. Ex Al Kidwell Collection. Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974.