Rhodochrosite with Fluorite (rare Colorado locale) (ex Rich Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

The Henderson mine is a large scale commercial Molybdenum mine on the east slope of the Continental Divide in Colorado. Despite the large amount of mining that takes place underground, there are VERY few specimens from this mine on the market. The mine is still operating today (2012), but it remains one of the few active mines in Colorado, which is sad as there were well over 100 operating mines in Colorado over 30 years ago. This mine is known for its Rhodochrosite specimens, despite the fact that they are rarely seen on the market these days. This comprises sharp, bladed, pale pink color "rosette" of Rhodochrosite with green Fluorite octahedra on Pyrite matrix. The REVERSE side of the specimen shows PURPLE Fluorite octahedra, making for a great two-tone coloration. There is a small contact to one of the Fluorite but still the piece is a very hard to find association specimen. This piece was mined on June 18, 1980, and was one of the few Rhodochrosites from the Henderson in the Colorado collection of Rich Kosnar.