Rhodochrosite (rare UTAH locality)

Item Description

A remarkably hard to find Rhodochrosite specimen from the fairly obscure Burgin Mine in Utah. We've only had a select few examples of this material to offer in the auctions, and this is certainly a very good example for what it is. The piece consists of small crystallized pastel pinkish colored rhombic Rhodochrosite crystals on all sides of the specimen. There is a small point of attachment on one edge, otherwise this would be essentially a complete "floater" specimen. The pale color pushes this right to limit of Rhodochrosite, and is bordering on manganese-bearing Siderite, but I've seen them all labeled as Rhodochrosite over the years, so we're sticking with it. There are a few spots of a dark silvery-black sulfide species, but I can't find any info to determine what it could be, possibly something more common like Sphalerite, Galena or Tetrahedrite, but I cannot say for certain. If you're a fan of Rhodochrosite or minerals of Utah, you need one of these in your collection, as they are essentially impossible to find on the market today. From the collection of Gary Weaver of Prescott, Arizona (1944-2019). Gary was an electrical engineer who worked for many years for Hughes Aircraft in California. After retiring to Prescott, Arizona in the early 2000s, Gary rekindled his childhood love of minerals, amassing a collection of roughly 2000 specimens focusing on localities in which he and his wife had lived or visited (Mexico, Peru and the western / southwestern United States). You can read Gary's obituary here https://www.dcourier.com/news/2019/apr/27/obituary-gary-richard-weaver/