Pyromorphite with Crocoite

Item Description

Please note: This specimen was originally labeled as coming from the Kosminsky Mine, but in a post on mindat by Peter Anderson, he states that these specimens were actually found at the Platt Prosepct, (which lies on the north slope of Kosminsky Hill). See https://www.mindat.org/article.php/4265/Dundas+mineralogy%3A+N-Z for more information. This labeling mishap can be seen on a vast number of old labels when these pieces were coming out of the ground, including the label accompanying this specimen. Dozens if not hundreds of tiny dark olive-green crystals of Pyromorphite are coating a partial vug of oxidized matrix, which are associated with several thin prismatic crystals of bright orange-red colore Crocoite. This is clearly a micro specimen, and we've photographed the piece with a Canon MP-E 65 mm marco lens to better illustrate the quality. The color contrast of the two minerals together is striking, and looks fantastic up close. From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). 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.