Pyrite with Fluorite (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

A notably hard to find specimen, in a near large cabinet sized example from the Gardner Quarry in Harnett County, North Carolina featuring hundreds of tiny sparkling, golden, striated, cubic metallic Pyrite crystals which are partially overgrowing and associated with modified, deep purple crystals of Fluorite. Some of the Fluorite crystals are contacted, revealing that only the exterior has the dark purple hue, while the interior is a soft greenish-blue shade. The crystals are sitting on a layer of tiny pyramidal Quartz crystals, which have a pale pinkish color due to inclusions of iron oxide (the label states that this is Goethite) for a nice added touch of color. Even though this is a big specimen, it's truly best observed under magnification to see all the little details of the Pyrite and Fluorite crystals. It's the ONLY specimen of this material that we've ever had to offer in the auctions, and certainly would make a great addition to any North Carolina mineral suite.
From the collection of Norman Kennedy ("Kenny") Gay (1953-2023), a geologist, geoscience educator and mineral collector from North Carolina. Kenny worked for North Carolina Geological Survey starting 1995, and he was a member of the adjunct faculty at Wesleyan College, and a professor of geology since 2001. He assembled a large collection of worldwide minerals specimens, though he focused mainly on minerals of North Carolina. Kenny did substantial work documenting all of the significant mineral occurrences and mining/mineral collecting in North Carolina. He might be best associated with the Redmond Mine, where the rare extremely rare lead sulfate Kennygayite was discovered and named in his honor in 2022. Kenny was the first person to collect specimens at this locality, which lead Jason Smith to take an interest in this assemblage, and later name a mineral in Kenny's honor.